Board Collaborated Story 2
by PinkPixie019
Summary: Beka's in troble and the crew must save her. Things are happening to the crew, mostly Trance, and who are these new beings? T but M in places.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Collaborated Story #2 (Name may change)

AUTHORS: Dragonlight, Gordon AI, Mary Rose, Anna a.k.a. doxxymom, shadowkat83, Sabbie, consubstantial 

SERIES: None As Of Yet 

PAIRING: None as of Yet

TYPE: Angst 

RATING: R

ARCHIVE: To Andromeda Romance site yes, and others please ask. 

SUMMARY: Beka is captured by an unknown alien species. Can the crew get to her in time? And if so will they all make it out alive? 

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Andromeda, Just the charters I make.

Ok this is a collaborated story on slipstream underground, in this each writer takes on a character to write and then when their part comes up they go. Here's a list of who's playing who...

Mary Rose- Beka

Anna a.k.a doxxymom- Rommie

Gordon AI- Aliens(s)

Shadowkat- Harper

DragonLight- Trance

Sabbie- Dylan

Consubstantial- Tyr

To the story!!

  
  


Beka's POV 

  
  


I didn't know what had happened as I struggled to come awake. When I finally did, I still couldn't figure it out. I was lying on a bed, surrounded by medical machines, many of them I seemed to be connected to. I tried to move only to find out that I was tied down in restraints. I was scared. What had happened to me? I didn't remember how I had gotten here. All I knew was that I wanted out. I didn't feel at all well. I was weak and scared and I hated it. I tried to scream but I couldn't; something was covering my face. It was a mask of some sort. Where was I? I wanted to go back to the Andromeda. Where was she? Where was everybody? They hadn't gone away and left me; had they? They wouldn't. No, they wouldn't. They might not be here but they'd come for me; they had to.   
  
I noticed a slight movement off to the side as someone entered the room. I couldn't see who it was. What was wrong with my eyes? Hell, for that matter, what was wrong with my entire self? All I could now make out was whoever it was wasn't human. I guess it could see that I was now awake because it came over to me. It spoke in a language I didn't understand. I tried again to move and communicate but again the attempt was doomed to failure. And I guess trying wasn't a good idea. It didn't seem to please the alien. It went and got a hypo-injector, held it against my neck and everything went black again.   
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Rommie's POV

"Andromeda, report," Dylan barks.   
  
He's edgy. Stressed. I can hear it in his tone. My hologram will comfort him. I coalesce in front of him and his pupils widen ever-so-slightly. "We have located the Eureka Maru on Cata Monje," I tell him.   
  
He frowns. Obviously, he does not recognize the name.   
  
"It's a tiny ice planet in the Uncharted Territories on the outer reaches of the Monje Void. Beka was off course for reasons unknown. Cata Monje has no native population, no vegetation, no discernible seasons -- only mild winter and deep winter."   
  
Behind my hologram, Harper snorts as he paces the Command Deck.   
  
"Life signs?" Dylan asks.   
  
I hesitate. In his current state of agitation, Dylan may react harshly. *Automatic alert sent to Trance in Medical to prepare a calming solution for the Captain.* "No, sir. No life signs. And it appears the Maru may have sustained weapons fire."   
  
He pales.   
  
*Internal shunt. Comm open.*   
  
"Rommie."   
  
"Yes, Andromeda?"   
  
"Prepare cold weather gear, medical supplies and injured evac kits."   
  
"We're going to the planet?"   
  
"The order hasn't come yet, but it will."   
  
"How is Dylan dealing with the loss of Beka?"   
  
"Badly, as he should since he ordered her on the mission."   
  
Rommie's fear and compassion are palpable within the matrix. *Cordoning off the emotions.*   
  
Suddenly the door to Command whooshes open. Tyr strides in with blazing eyes and a snarl on his lips.   
  
This can't be good.   



	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Tyr's POV

  
  


Part Three   
  
Enraged at the idiocy of the situation, I stride past Harper and back the Captain up a few steps from the sheer force of my entry. When my face is mere inches away from Dylan's, I sneer, "Well Captain, you sent Beka off on the foolhardy suicide mission despite my advice against it. What are you going to do to bring her back safe and sound?"   
  
Before Dylan can frame a response, I rail, "First contact with an unknown race and you left her hanging with no support or backup. What were you thinking?"   
  
Without permitting a reply, I thunder, "You weren't. All you were concerned with was getting another pat on the back from the Vedrans. While you spent your time showing off your newest medal and making time with any female who gave you a second look, Beka put her life on the line. Worse, you made me and the rest of the crew watch you sit on your laurels, rather than let me take the Andromeda to back her up. I hold you responsible for this mess."   
  
Grasping the little bit of ribbon on Dylan's uniform in one clenched fist, I tell him, "If you don't figure out a way to get her back here safe and sound, I'm going to make you eat those medals."   
  
Suddenly I notice a small tugging on the back of my chainmail. "What do you want Harper?" I ask without letting go of my hold on Dylan.   
  
"I enjoy a good beating as much as the next guy. But while beating Dylan might make you feel better; it won't help Beka." I glower at the little man; but he has a valid point. "I want her back as much as you do," Harper continues, "but we need to work together to make that happen."   
  
"Fine. You work with Dylan," I scowl, "I can't believe I'm saying this but; right now, I prefer the company of Trance's plants to this narcissus. Andromeda, where is Trance? I get the feeling that finding Beka is going to require some of her special mojo."   
  
"Jeez," I snort as I release Captain Hunt, "You've reduced me to asking for the help of the mystic pixie. When we get Beka back, you will pay for that Dylan."   



	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

Aliens POV

  


The large secure door slid open as I approached, there were no guards, no access mechanisms, the door was coded to base DNA; she could not escape. I entered to see her still prone form lying restrained and partially blindfolded by the monitors around her on a surgical bed.   
  
I walked to the other side of the room and busied myself with some other work, preparing for what was to come while I waited for the others to arrive, only moments later I heard her begin to awake.   
  
As I turned around I saw that she was squirming and writhing, trying to escape; she was screaming and yelling and crying out in a language I did not understand, her voice muffled and subdued by the mask she now wore, although, with my enhanced hearing I could make out the words she was forming whether I understood them or not, she was most likely screaming for aid, or an explanation, they all did.   
  
As I took great effort to stay out of direct line of sight with her the doors opened again and the first of the others arrived. She walked over to us.   
  
"Is it her?" She asked, her voice free of emotion. I nodded.   
  
She made the small trip to the surgical tray and returned almost immediately with an injector, our guest now had an unobstructed view of us for the first time, at seven feet tall we are not the most aesthetically pleasing species to look upon, with dark course skin, large fangs and spikes at our elbows, our four black eyes and red pupils make us very intimidating.   
  
As her body went limp we were relieved to see that our sedatives hadn't killed her, after all, with such an unusual physiology we could not be certain that our medical techniques would be safe for use on her. We could only hope the memory drugs had the same effect on her as on the others before her.   
  
"Make the preparations."   
"Yes ma'am." I hated being a junior research assistant, left to do all the work and get none of the credit, but what could I do. I quickly went about setting up our cover story for our guest when she finally awoke, quickly preparing to leave this god-awful planet.   
  
We had finally found someone who could be the person we had been searching for, only time and countless tests will tell.   
  
I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt and pity for the creature before me, I had seen the techniques used to verify the authenticity of this woman, and I would not enjoy what was to come.   
  
It would not be long before her friends came looking for her, we would have to leave, and soon, I must hurry. Soon our ship would be far away from here and we would not have to worry, it was always the same, we always had a way to get away unnoticed, and it always worked. 


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

Trance's POV

I slowly look up as Tyr storms into my little room of plants, I knew he'd be here. "Hello Tyr," I say looking back to my plant. Tyr lends against the wall hard, hard enough to rattle a few plants I look up more sharply "Now Tyr, if you're gonna bang around here and hurt my plants, you might as well leave, or you can do what you came here to do talk to me"   
Tyr looks up at me, his eyes still full of anger "I wonder sometimes if he cares if she dies or not."   
My eyes lock onto his "You know that's not true, he cares for Beka as much as anyone on this crew dose." I watch as his eyes soften a bit. I had to change the subject. "Why don't you help me, hold this pole up while I tire this plant to it" I motion to the small pink plant in my small hand.   
He looks at the plant and slowly gets up, walking over to me grabbing the pole. As I lace the small twine around the plant. I sit back and look at the plant, a small smile on my lips "There all better"   
Tyr lets go of the pole and looks at me "How can you worry about a plant at a time like this?"   
I smile again "I can think of many things at once, but this had to be done now, we can save Beka later."   
His eyes show anger again "Later?!"   
My smile fades "Yes later, we can't do it now can we? We don't know where she is, and if I were you I'd go and try to find out, we need everyone working on this"   
He looks at me, with a blank face, I can't read him at all. Then all of a sudden he smiles, a rare thing. "Yes... I'll do that" I watch him turn and walk out, leaving me alone again.   
I sit back on my knees, where could she be? I ask myself. Could it be the same people she thought it was, but they didn't look like them. I have that feeling again, the one where I know someone's gonna get hurt. I wonder if it will be Tyr, for once the man may let emotion get in the way, but what if its someone else, I can see many possible ways this could turn out, someone gets hurt in all of them, a someone dies in one.   
I'm so in thought I don't notice Harper until I feel his hand on my shoulder.....   



	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

Harper's POV

I walked up on trance after getting a snarl and a stiff shoulder from the retreating Tyr. Usually she seems to sense my presence but not today, she was preoccupied with her thoughts. I reached out and grabbed her shoulder and she yelped and spun around going into one of the fighting stances Tyr had taught her but not doing it exactly right which created a humorous scene. She grabbed her chest and panted.   
  
"Harper…it is not nice to sneak up on people like that. I could have hurt you!" She said and I laughed envisioning what ever stance she took being executed…what kinda move would that have been? I asked myself laughing inwardly.   
  
"Sure…" I said and she smiled an empty smile and returned to her flowers, inspecting ever leaf and stem. Then she faded back into thought awkwardly frozen in place, completely forgetting I was even there.   
  
"Trance you ok?" I said moving into her line of vision.   
  
"Yeah I'm just worried about beka."   
  
"I'm worried too…Tyr came in here hoping you could use your "mojo" and find Beka…any luck?"   
  
"Mojo?" she asked and then shook her head writing it off as some of my typical earth slang.   
  
"No I don't know where Beka is…how is Dylan doing in the search." Trance said innocently changing the subject.   
  
"No luck on the sensors but the weather down there is pretty bad. We're hoping she wasn't on the ship when it crashes or that she's still alive down there but our sensors can't pick her up …we're gonna have to go to that ice ball and investigate. If someone hurt Beka I swear I will devote my life too…" I said angrily letting the rage of 20 years of pent up frustration and oppression surface but trance turned around and looked intensely in my eyes.   
  
"Harper…just promise me that you'll be careful ok. Don't let your emotions get in the way…"   
  
"You know something…don't you?"   
  
"Just promise me Harper." She said pleadingly.   
  
"I promise." I said uneasy. I trusted trance…if it was information that could help us find beka…she'd tell us, but she must have known something. Why was she so frightened? My paranoia started to eat at me and I started to twitch. I was time for a nice sparky…something to give me reason to twitch. I gave Trance one last looking over trying to see if she'd spill it for me but I gave up after a few seconds…I'm never one for patience. I had to keep busy. I couldn't think about what could be happening to beka…I couldn't think of the possibility that she could be dead…laying somewhere cold like all the people I've cared about. Another nail in the coffin. I shook the thoughts away but they promptly returned. My thoughts begin to run overtime and my past ghosts begin to haunt the corridors…ghosts of people long past calling for me…telling me they love me…I couldn't stand it if Beka became another ghost in my illusions…another sour memory. I started to sweat, she was like a mother to me…in space all I have is her…   
  
"She's all I have." I whispered. Rommie flickered into existence in front of me startling me and for a second I thought she was a ghost…for a second I thought I had lost everything. I thought rommie had died…I thought I had nothing left in this universe but me and I'm afraid to be alone. Afraid of my own mind.   
  
"Harper are you ok?" she said realizing that I was seconds away from a panick attack.   
  
"Yeah…sure I'm ok…just worried about beka." I said wiping the sweat from above my lip and trying to calm my breathing.   
  
"I'm worried to…we'll get her back Harper..." Rommie said and it was oddly more comforting coming from her then any other member of the crew. She had no hidden agenda's, No secret abilities to hide…just logic and genuine love for her crew. If she says that we'll find Beka then we will. Rommie stilled and closed her eyes obviously getting a message of some sort.   
  
"Report to the slipfighter bay on deck 9 and prep for launch…we're going to the planets surface." Rommie said and I nodded and trotted off. I entered the docking bay to find both Dylan and Tyr suiting up with a quiet determination. Neither wanted to talk…both to stubborn to let their shields down and just work together for this common cause. I shook my head at them and suited up as fast as I could and hopped in the slipfighter behind dylan. Tyr was my buddy…specially after the magog worldship…but he had a head full of steam and he had a knack for wrecking slipfighters. We blasted off and the ride was a quiet one. The only sound was our engines and the monotone landing commands from Dylan. Our landing was smooth but the site was dismal. The rust colored maru almost completely covered in snowdrifts and the wind howled menacingly around us as if warning us of impending doom. I whimperd…I never liked the cold or messages of impending doom. The march to the maru looked short from the cockpit but was really a long and hard one. The snow came up to my knees at some points plus the stiffness of the suit and the weight of the pack I was wearing didn't help at all. Tyr growled at my pace and I was frustrated at my own pace as well, the maru could hold all the answers. She could be laying there waiting for us or it could hold answers to where she was…all we had to do was get to it and I was taking so long…so inferior. I trudged along fighting the wind and grumbling about being a kludge amongst these to big shots and how much it truly sucked which irritated Tyr and amused Dylan. We finally made it and we all looked at each other…this was it…would we find her dead and frozen inside? I was so afraid my heart started to race. Dylan took a deep breath and then stepped inside…   



	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

Dylan's POV

  


I couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. As much as I wanted to find her, I didn't want to see her lying in this barren wasteland having slowly frozen to death. It just wouldn't have been a fitting end for Beka Valentine.   
  
I looked around at my crew and could see similar expressions on their faces. Well, really only just on Harpers. That boy wore his heart on his sleeve. Tyr on the other hand was wearing the best poker face I had ever seen. He turned to me and for a second I could see some form of happiness shine through the anger, but it was quickly blocked again by righteous indignation.   
  
"Well, Captain Hunt it appears she isn't here. What do you suggest we do now?"   
  
I honestly had no idea, but somehow I didn't think that was the answer Tyr was looking for. I tried to look as if I was busy contemplating our newest problem but I knew I was failing miserably. I just could hold back the endless tirade of self-reproach my subconscious was feeding to me. It's your fault, Dylan. You sent her here. If it wasn't for you she would be back on the Andromeda working out or trying to coax you out of your self-imposed hybernation.   
  
The steady stream of loathing was broken when Harper looked up and said, "I'm going to check if the Maru can still fly."   
  
I knew what he didn't say was it would give me something to do. Rather than sit around and watch you two mope.   
  
"Go ahead, Harper. Tyr and I will try and find a way to find Beka." I knew I was asking a lot even as I spoke. Tyr and I get along right now? Not likely, but for Beka I might just be able to coax him into a uneasy alliance. Maybe.   
  
I looked out of the cockpit window and over the winter wasteland. I'll find you Beka. Or I'll die trying.   



	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

Beka's POV

I woke up again. Everything was the same. I was still restrained. I couldn't see very well but I moved my head around as best I could to try to make anything out. The only sounds I could hear were the sounds the machines made as they continued doing whatever they were doing. I didn't know what they were doing or what they were supposed to be for and it frightened me.   
  
From the feel of it on my skin I deduced that I was wearing some sort of medical garment not unlike what was aboard the Andromeda. I was covered by a thin blanket. I could also feel tubes and wires on me. Some of them were just taped to me. Others, to my horror were actually under my skin going inside my body.   
  
I could just make out my hands in the restraints. I also noticed that I had an I.V. line in one arm. What were they giving me? I couldn't see clearly enough to make out if it was a single or multiple lines. Someone help me. I have to get out of here.   
  
I heard footsteps approaching. Quickly I partially closed my eyes. I didn't want them to knock me out again so I would pretend to still be unconscious. But I still wanted to know what was going on.   
  
Have you ever tried to look at things through eyes that are mostly closed? If you have, you know that you can't see too clearly. Add that to the fact that my vision was already screwed up for reasons unknown and it was a lot of fun, I'll tell you.   
  
But they were there and so far so good. They didn't notice me. They were talking and writing things down on flexis. How much you want to bet that whatever they were writing was about me? They were so close I could have reached out and touched them if my hands were free.   
  
I forced myself to relax. If I were being medically monitored then changes in my heart rate and other vital signs would clue them in to the fact that I was awake. I didn't want that. It wasn't easy. They were so close and they were poking and prodding at me. I guessed I was being given some sort of physical exam.   
  
Suddenly one of them grasped my eyes and shone a light in them. It was so bright and it hurt. I couldn't help it. I tried so hard not to but a whimper of pain escaped me. Which surprised them.   
  
The game was up. I knew it. But I wasn't going down without a fight. I began struggling and bucking to try to get free. I also attempted to scrape the mask off my face by rubbing against the bed. I managed to get it off a little.   
  
Alarms were going off all around. Then one of them came at me with another injector. NO! PLEASE! Just let me go. What did I do to you to deserve this? I don't even know who and what you are. My last thought before slipping under again was that if you want me unconscious why bother to restrain me at all.   



	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

Alien's POV

Ok, here it is, sorry for the replay but I wanted this from the aliens perspective too.   
  
I once again ran the scanner over her prone form. This human was very stubborn, but not as smart as she would like. She had been awake now for some time, but stupidly she thought we had been fooled by her pathetic acting, we decided to humor her for now, none of the others had tried this before, in fact, none had survived this long before.   
  
I quickly surveyed the IV and the other drips we had attached to her, they would need replacing soon. I quickly retreated to the back of the small medical ward aboard our ship, we had been here for some time, but we were just now preparing to leave, I returned to what our previous 'patients' had come to call The Bed to replenish the drips.   
  
As I started to remove the first pouch my superior came in.   
"What are the results?" No hello how are you, no, how's the patient just what are the results, I had no right to complain; I was only an intern, but still, it would have been nice.   
"She is a 98% match, the base sequence is virtually identical with our sample, but there are definitely some signs of alteration, I am positive she is a direct descendant, she is the one we are looking for." I was getting sick of repeating the same thing over and over again, even twice and three times to some people.   
  
I almost flinched at the grin on my superiors face.   
"Begin a species analysis, dissect her if you have to, just make sure at least part of her can still talk."   
  
I nodded and did as I was ordered removing a small torch from my pocket. As I shone the light in her eyes I jumped at the small whimper of pain that escaped her lips. For someone who was restrained she fought valiantly, the torch landed in pieces on the other side of the bay and I was sure my wrist was broken.   
  
Suddenly she screamed. Her language was vile in comparison to our own and my superior could stand it no more than I could, he immediately hit the alarm, I could hear the armed guards running down the halls. I spied a hypo already loaded with a sedative and made a grab for it. Moments later, her body went limp.   
  
The guard's burst in ready to fire, their weapons trained on the bed. When they saw that she was out cold they seemed somewhat annoyed to say the least.   
"She's asleep for now. Now, all of you out. I have tests to run."   
  
The General, my superior, led his guards back the way they came, as the doors closed I noticed that two had been left behind, so much for wanting her alive, if this happened again, she was dead for sure.   
'You've just gotta love the thinking behind military intelligence, talk about an oxymoron.'   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
A few hours later, my wrist set long ago, I was half way through my examination of her forearm when I remembered the IV's. I rushed back into the medical room to replace them. The second I looked at her I remembered why I hadn't replaced them in the first place, her arm was still in my right hand. I had been so busy studying it I had forgotten all about what it actually was. I was suddenly very grateful that I was the only one in the room.   
  
As I thought this she started to stir, I made another mad dash for a hypo, but by the time I had loaded it she was out cold again. The look on her face said it all.   
"Hmph, not much of a strong stomach."   
  
Well, I was finished with my tests anyway, and the preservant gel was starting to harden, so I set about reattaching the limb. Minutes later you wouldn't have known it was missing. I now had a complete genetic profile, it WAS her.   
  
My superiors were ecstatic, I had reported in not a moment too soon either, her friends had found her ship.   
"You have 2 solar minutes, be ready to launch, otherwise, you'll blow up along with the planet."   
"It wasn't the best solution, but it worked, any traces of who we were would be vaporised along with the planet, it was what had kept our existence a secret for all these years, even kept us secret from the Old Commonwealth, well, mostly, there had been one skirmish, and not a very pleasant one at that.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Back on the Maru Harper returned to the cockpit, the tension between Tyr and Dylan was so thick, not even his laser saw would have been able to cut it.   
"Just so you guys know, the engines are running, we can take the Maru back to the Andromeda and run a proper analysis, Rommie will find anything we miss."   
"Harper, check the sensor logs, I want to know exactly what happened here, Tyr, take her up, I'll check around here." Dylan sounded not like himself; he was obviously more upset by this than he was letting on. Suddenly, all hell broke loose.   



	10. Chapter 10

Part 10

Harper's POV

  


Everyone went silent as the maru screeched and shuddered around us. We all looked around until our eyes landed on each other. We stood spooked and shaken. Dylan was the first to speak.   
  
"Harper…what was that?"   
  
"I'm not sure." I said grimacing at the next rusty whine that came from the small cargo ship. I paced slowly over the sensor controls and swallowed hard.   
  
"Dylan…we're on ice...sitting above an underground river….it's cracking dylan." I said hoarsly. The maru lurched forward quickly sending everyone stumbling toward the cockpit. We stumbled into the cockpit just in time to watch a mammoth chunk of the planets surface fall through in front of us and get washed away in a highspeed river that the maru was leaning toward. The view was horrifying.   
  
"Tyr..." Dylan commanded and he didn't have to say anymore. Tyr promptly sat in the captain's chair as the maru rocked precariously on the edge of the huge crack in the ice. The stream below ran astonishingly fast and we all knew the second we hit that water it would be over.   
  
"Andromeda! Andromeda can you hear me." Dylan said pressing his neck communicator but he got nothing in response.   
  
"There's to much interference…we can't get a signal." I squeaked anxiously running my fingers through my hair.   
  
"Damnit!" Dylan said looking around in frustration.   
  
"This isn't good." I said wiping the sweat away and trying to stop my hands from shaking. I hate being cold, earth was cold. and the thought of freezing to death in that underground ice river sent shivers through my spine.   
  
"If we start up the engines it will defiantly melt through this ice and we'll all become human popcicles."   
  
"This is stupid…I say we take our chances out there on the ice." Tyr said forcefully.   
  
"How far down is that river?" Dylan said and our breaths caught as the ship rocked forward again dipping down even deeper this time. I pulled up the topography of the surrounding area sending my nimble fingers to work.   
  
"Below the ice opens up into a huge cavern…We have to be in the worst possible spot…where the ice is the thinnest." I said with exasperation gesturing wildly with my hands to give them something to do other then shake.   
  
"How far harper?" Dylan said annoyed.   
  
"I don't know for sure…about…a kilometer …maybe a lot more…maybe a lot less." I said to Dylan and he rolled his eyes angrily at my vague answer.   
  
"That's the best I can do! This isn't the Andromeda…we don't have sensors like she does."   
  
"Tyr be ready to turn on the engines full power." Dylan said with that 'I've got a plan' look in his eye.   
  
"Are you insane!" Tyr bellowed shaking his head angrily still opting to take a walk in the winter wonderland that wants to swallow us whole.   
  
"Dylan we'll fall through!" I said not wanting to go with Tyr's idea but not much liking Dylan's either.   
  
"That's exactly what we want…you said a kilometer to the river…if we fall through Then power up the engines at full power it should give us a quick enough boost to shoot us out of here.."   
  
"I'm not sure about those readings! I could be way off."   
  
"No matter what we do we're falling through that ice…we can do this." The ship went quiet and Tyr tensed.   
  
"This ship may have sentimental value to Beka but it has none to me! I'm taking my chances out there!" He said…his face creased with determination.   
  
"And do what? Fall through the ice? Where are you going to go? We can't send a signal to andromeda…this is our best chance of getting out of here." Dylan said and Tyr sat quietly.   
  
"Do any of you have a better idea?!" Dylan spat.   
  
Tyr scooted the pilots chair back and unbuckled his safety harness. He sat quietly for a second seeming to deliberate.   
  
"You're a better pilot." Tyr said trying to stand but the ship lunged forward at the shift of weight and Tyr immediately sat back down in terror.   
  
"I guess your gonna have to fly."   
  
"I guess so" Tyr said quietly   
  
"Alright guys I did the math…Tyr this is gonna be tricky…with the small gap we've got we've gotta pull up as soon as the ice starts to break." I said sending Tyr the information on his monitor and he nodded slowly. I was afraid…Tyr was genuinely worried. Worried about dying and worried about not being a good enough pilot. This would be so different if Beka was here…she'd know she could do it…she'd sit there spewing confidence reassuring all of us that this was gonna be another Beka story we could tell the patrons of the next bar we'd stumble into.   
  
We could literally hear the ice cracking below us and I squinted to keep the tears of terror at bay. My hands were clinched around my console and all I could think about was how much I wished beka was here. How much I wish she was here to tell me to shut up and get it together and then miraculously get this tugboat to do more then it ever could.   
  
The ship was quiet…only the sound of screeching and moaning was heard while the dismal reds of the surrounding lights and the random spurts of steam seemed to enhance our feeling of dread. We were waiting…waiting to feel the lurch and that sense of falling that shoves your stomach into your throat. Dylan clutched the railing behind Tyr while Tyr sat ridgid and ready…Nitzcheans had superior reflexes…I hoped that trait didn't skip over the kodiak who had our lives in his hands. The ship teetered forward and then rocked back slowly then there was a loud crack and it felt like gravity no longer existed…I screamed out as Dylan clinched down on the railing in front of him.   
  
"PULL UP!" He screamed but Tyr with his superior reflexes had already beaten him to it. He strained fighting the marus tug to go downward. he revved back in the seat and the little ship groaned in defiance…The cockpit window was our portal to our impending doom…the river was getting closer and closer but slowly the nose was pulling up...I gritted my teeth..   
  
"Come on! Come on!" I cheered on as bustle and confusion of our predicament limited my vocabulary and the only thing that pounded in my skull was survival. The maru's engines shudderd but we kept going, pushing her until we could hear the distinct grind of the engines reaching their limit and struggling to maintain. finally our decent downward became our Ascent upward and we burst through the ice above us with an eardrum bursting crunch.   
  
"YES!" Tyr cheered forcefully and then breathed out all his tension and fear. He had did it…he had saved us.   
  
Dylan walked over to Tyr and grabbed his shoulder and the tension that was once there was now gone…   
  
"good job Tyr.." they both nodded sharing a mutual respect and set back to checking for damage.   
  
"Dylan we have coms.." I said   
  
"Andromeda…we're coming in." Dylan said and andromeda's familiar voice rang through.   
  
"acknowledged."   
  
Oh…Dylan…I think you should see this." I stuttered watching the monitor in front of me. Dylan walked over and became just as mesmerized as me. Beka sat at the cockpit with a gash bleeding from her head. Her voice sounded labored and her hair was wild. The vid feed was staticy and jumpy which only emphasized the panic in her voice.   
  
"Andromeda…I've been shot down…by an unknown and am being pursued…" She said then looked over her shoulder suddenly. She promptly lifted her gun and fired a few desperate shots just as the video feed blinked out. I closed my eyes and Dylan grabbed my shoulder.   
  
"She didn't even get a chance to send it…" I said looking away so they couldn't see the tear running down my cheek.   
  
"That doesn't mean we've lost her Harper…She's a strong woman." Dylan said as andromeda ship came into view through the cockpit window.   
  
"Beka…"Tyr said quietly while he prepared to dock.


	11. Chapter 11

Part 11

Trance's POV

  
  


I sit in my quarters, on a small mat. Deep in thought. I saw all the images coming back, Harper dying, Beka nothing but a shell, Dylan becoming nothing more that a vegetable, Rommie being torn apart limb by limb, Try screaming in pain. My eyes shoot open, I'm covered in cold sweat. "It won't happen again, I won't let it"   
I'm still shaking when I raise to my feet and cross the short distance from my mat to the consol on the wall. I start typing the code, prepping a slipfighter for departure, Rommie came up on my left, but I continue to type into the consol.   
"What do you think you doing, Trance." Said Rommie knowing full well what I was doing.   
"Saving them,... and Beka. If it's a last thing I do" My eyes locked onto the consol as I finish. I finally look Rommie in the eyes. Her face was blank, trying to figure out my plan. But she wouldn't be able to, she had no idea what I was gonna do. Hell I didn't know what I was gonna do. "They'll be back soon"   
I went to walk out when Rommie stopped me, holding my arm tight "Dylan, Tyr, and Harper have it under control"   
I looked at her hand on my arm, then slid my eyes up to meet hers "No, they don't" I pulled my arm from her grasp with enough strength to even surprise her. I could feel he eyes on me as I walk away, all her eyes.   
As I make my way to the docking bay, I fight a internal battle in my head, some voices saying don't do it, others saying do, then that damn emotion one screaming you have to no other choice.   
I walk in to the docking bay and begin to suit up, thoughts still running through my head all the while. I shake my head hard,. I had to be in control if I was going to do this.   
I get into the fighter, and shoot out of the ship and toward the planet, but I wasn't go to there I was following that ship, all the while working my plan out. I see Dylan and the other two heading back to Andromeda, that was good, they were still alive. By the time they got back they wouldn't have a chance at finding me.   
I see the ship heading into a slip portal trying to run away, well that won't happen I quickly head after them, staying back enough so that they can't notice me, I couldn't make my move until they stopped. The Slip fighter twists and jerks as I fly, I hated flying, always had. But none of that mattered now, this was for Beka.   
I pull out of the portal after them, and watch as they come to a slow stop, their sensors had picked me up, their weapons locked onto me. I wasn't fast enough, the torpedo hit the slip fighter, throwing me around. My head spun, pain shooting from my right side, I could feel blood it was dripping down the side of my head, lots of blood, too much blood. I was getting scared. Then I felt it, the ship had locked on to me and was pulling me in. I watched as the ship came closer and closer, until I was inside it.   
Three of them came at my fighter, I couldn't see them well enough yet. They opened the ship and looked at me. The tallest one said something to the other two but I didn't know what. I looked at them closer but it was hard to concentrate but I think I've say them, yes I have I know I have. By now I could taste blood dripping onto my lip and my head spun more, I felt sick, god I felt weak I felt... younger. One reached out and grabbed my face making me look it in the eyes, which only made my head hurt worse, he pushed my face away and said something to the other two again. The others reached in and pulled me out roughly and made me stand. That was a bad idea, I quickly fell to my knees and then darkness.


	12. Chpater 12

Part 12

Rommie's POV

  


My fingers leave a trail in the fine dust on top of Trance's computer console. I really must turn up the filters in here. Trance just stormed out. She continues to surprise me. Her unnatural strength reminded me once again that she is far from human. What was she doing? What did she type? Damn, the screen is blank but for the cursor.   
  
I slide into her seat and access the terminal. I will discover what she did. It's a violation of official privacy protocols and an invasion of a friend's personal privacy, but damnit, she acted so strangely. One can never tell when a biological lifeform is compromised. They are so delicate. My primary duty is to my ship, my self, to my captain, to the mission. I must access this terminal even if it means Trance never forgives me, even though it saddens me that she didn't just tell me what she was doing and save me the moral struggle of this decision.   
  
**Entering terminal. Sorting codes.** My eyes close as the coding speeds past me.   
  
  
~*~   
  
"Andromeda! We're coming in hot!" Dylan's voice held a bright edge of terror. "Navigation and steering inop! Everybody, brace for impact!"   
  
The Eureka Maru zooms toward my hanger bay.   
  
**Deploy Maria bots with medical equipment and standard crash rescue equipment. Deploy crash capture netting in hanger bay to catch Maru and minimize damage. Run announcement.**   
  
"Code Red. Code Red. Imminent crash in hanger bay 12. Prepare for systemic damage and fire. Code Red. Code Red...."   
  
~*~   
  
**Accessing internal link.**   
  
"Andromeda, it's Rommie. What is wrong?"   
  
"The Maru was damaged on the planet. Navigation has gone out. They will crash."   
  
The conversation lasts less than a second, but already, I'm sprinting for the hanger bay. With Trance gone, I am their only hope of medical attention.   
  
There is an explosion. The concussion slaps me through the air like a cat hitting a mouse. I slam against the bulkhead. There is no pain. I must reach the hanger bay. Are they hurt? Dead? Must reach them.   
  
The inner door is stuck. Debris lies against it. Smoke. Sizzling. Blood. I detect blood! Must get through the door!   
  
With a screech it yields to my fingers. I will get to them. Dylan? Dylan? If he's dead....   
  
The Maru is mostly intact. The emergency net caught them and prevented horrible destruction. The cockpit has damage. It hangs open. I cannot see them. Must get inside.   
  
**Accessing Maru computer system. Door controls. Maru, open your doors.**   
  
Click. Whir.   
  
The doors open. The stench of blood is strong.   
  
"Dylan?" I call. There is no response. Fear bayonet's my internal sensors. "Harper? Tyr?"   
  
"Rommie?" Andromeda asks. "Progress report?"   
  
"Mild damage to the hanger bay and to the front end of the Maru."   
  
"And?" She sounds worried.   
  
"I haven't found them yet."   
  
A groan. I detect a groan. I follow it. Harper lies against a bulkhead near the door. There is blood on his face. His arm appears broken. I kneel and cup his chin.   
  
"Harper? Harper open your eyes and look at me."   
  
"No, Ma," he slurs. "Too big a party las' night."   
  
I wipe the blood from his face. He has a shallow cut to his forehead. "Harper, it's Rommie. Listen to me. The Maru crashed in the hangerbay. You have a cut on your forehead that will bleed a lot but isn't dangerous. A Maria will take you to medical to scan you for concussion. Your left arm is broken. The bot can start the repairs on that but it will take several days to heal. Do you understand?"   
  
His eyes open, squinting in pain. I can see his pupils are normal -- a very good sign. He will recover soon from the blow to the head.   
  
A Maria followed me into the ship. I motion her to gently carry him out. He's been through so much in his 27 years, that I want him far from any danger. The Maria takes him out past her sister bots who are spraying the tiny fires and salvaging the debris.   
  
"Hey, wake up," someone whispers from the cockpit.   
  
I gasp and crawl over the debris that rushed inward from the cockpit during the crash. There is less interior damage than I expected. I bent a steel strut up from the floor back into it's vertical position and proceed. A pinging sounds behind me. A door opening?   
  
I proceed to the cockpit anyway. I will investigate the noise second.   
  
The cockpit is a disaster. Smoke. Sparks. Wiring and transparent aluminum from the viewport lay in a tangled mess.   
  
Suddenly, Dylan's head pops up, pale, dirty with smoke, spotted with blood. I can't help but cry out and laugh in relief. He is alive!   
  
"Dylan!"   
  
"Help me, Rommie. My leg's ... trapped. There's blood pooling in my boot. And Tyr... Tyr's unconscious. He has a pulse. Don't know what hit him." His words are labored. His heart races. His breathing is fast, shallow. He is injured.   
  
I crouch down at Dylan's feet. His right leg is caught in a web of thin metal poles -- too strong, too sharp for a biological lifeform to move. "Hold still. This will take a moment." One of the needlelike poles has pierced his thigh close to the artery. If he moves, it will sever the artery and he will bleed to death in moments. I bite my lower lip and decide not to tell him. There isn't time. I snap them one at a time, as quickly as I dare without moving them. He groans in pain.   
  
"Hold on," I order him fiercely. "You won't die."   
  
"She wasn't there," he mumbles. His face is too pale. The tiny poles are slick with his blood. They slip in my fingers. "I lost her. First Sara, now Beka. I lost her. She wasn't ... there." His voice is fuzzy. His eyelids flicker.   
  
"Stay awake. CAPTAIN! Stay. Awake. That's an order!" He's bleeding too much. Dying.   
  
His eyes snap open. He takes a deep breath. I cut the last pole. It still protrudes from his thigh. If I move him, it will cut farther and sever the artery.   
  
"Dylan, I have to pull the metal from your leg or it might kill you during the move. Do you understand?"   
  
He nods. "Do it now. I'm just ... so ... tired. I'm sorry, Beka. I'm sorry ... never told you I --"   
  
I pause, the shreds of my shirt in my hands as I tear it into bandage strips. He never told her? His pheromones fog the air and I know what he never told her. Tears sting my eyes. He doesn't love me. He never will. "Dylan!" I roar. "Stay awake! Do it for Beka! You have to save her!"   
  
His eyes open, blue a sea of unfocused black.   
  
I yank out the pole. He screams. I shove in the bandage, stopping the blood flow. He is awake, staring wildly about the cockpit. As I wrap the field dressing around his thigh, Tyr stirs beside us.   
  
"Don't move, Tyr. I haven't assessed your situation yet."   
  
"Assess yourself, ship."   
  
I grin. Tyr is fine. "Injuries?"   
  
"I've sustained worse in the exercise room."   
  
"Good."   
  
"I am, however, trapped. This damned restraint harness will not release."   
  
I lay Dylan back in the clearest spot I can find, then scurry over to Tyr. Time is important were mortals are concerned. Tyr's hair covers his face as he tries to open the restraints.   
  
"Allow me." I snap them with one yank. The buckles are twisted. When he looks up at me I take an involuntary step back. His face is scored with tiny cuts, a swollen mass of bruises, nose obviously broken and bleeding. Debris must have hit him head-on. "Tyr, your face..."   
  
"Will heal. I have minor injuries. A broken nose, bruised ribs, tiny cuts from the broken view port. All minor and annoying." He stands, towering. His head sticks out through a hole in the demolished cockpit. "We have to find Beka before those bastards kill her."   
  
Dylan gasps in pain behind us, but he is on his feet.   
  
"Let's go," he growls through teeth gritted in agony."   
  
"Tyr, help him get to Medical. I'll follow shortly. I need to investigate something."   
  
"Something more important than --" his words trail off as he shakes his head, looking disgusted. He slips an arm under Dylan's and around his back, half-carrying the human out of the corpse of the Eureka Maru.   
  
"Rommie." It is Andromeda.   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"The fires are contained."   
  
"The Captain has injuries that may necessitate his being sedated."   
  
"Rommie. I ... will have to cordon you off from my main systems."   
  
"Why?" I pause in my search of the rear of the Maru.   
  
"I feel ... strange. A self diagnostic shows some strange coding in my mainframe affecting navigation and sliproutes."   
  
"Origin?"   
  
"The terminal in Trance's quarters."   
  
Damn. "So that's what she was doing -- keeping us from following her."   
  
I turn and start toward the airlock. I must get the crew healthy -- fast.   
  
Suddenly, something leaps out at me. I glimpse red eyes and dark scaly skin before sharp fangs sink into my shoulder. I toss the creature aside and whirl to face it. It's too fast. It slaps me across the chest, burying a spike protruding from its elbow deep into my chassis. Its image flickers before my eyes as my vision is compromised. It has hit my main power unit. I will be useless until my backup generator can power up and reboot my systems. I hope it doesn't kill me. I'm sorry, Dylan, that I've failed you again.   
  
The last sound I hear before darkness falls is Andromeda's voice calling, "Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert."   



	13. Chapter 13

Part 13

Beka's POV

The darkness is starting to fade. That's good. Although I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it at bay. They seem to like me best when I'm unconscious. I don't even know who they are. Why am I here? What do they want from me? Nothing good, I don't think.   
  
Why are they doing this to me? I couldn't see them all that well but I know I never saw anything like them before. This is bad, very bad for me I know. I have to get out of here. But how? I'm totally helpless and I'm not used to that. I have to do something. Trouble is, I have no idea what.   
  
I groan and start to try to move. I turn my head and that's when I see it. I know what it is, even if I can't see as well as I normally can.   
  
One of those things has something of mine in its hand. Oh, by the Divine! It's my arm. They cut it off. I don't have it anymore. What kind of creatures have me? And what else are they going to do to me? I can't take it anymore. This time they don't have to force the blackness upon me; it comes of its own accord. And I can't say that I really mind.   
  



	14. Chapter14

Part 14

Aliens POV

  
  


I entered the interrogation room to meet my newest victim, the Golden skinned alien was unlike anything I had ever seen before. She was bleeding from the lip and had a rather nasty bruise on her forehead.   
"What happened?" I asked, almost dreading the answer.   
"She thought she could follow us undetected, she was wrong. We disabled her vessel and brought her onboard for interrogation, she was like that when we found her, minus the bruise, I must have hit her a little harder than I thought."   
'Now that's an understatement if I ever heard one.' I thought to myself, not daring to anger the General. Unlike most militaries, our troops advance in rank by killing their direct superiors, and few Generals ever lasted as long as this one had.   
"Wake her." I complied by injecting her with a stimulant. Nothing, I scanned her, she was definitely unconscious, this wasn't a rouse or ploy.   
  
I tried injecting her with a more powerful stimulant, and again, and again, but still nothing, not even our most powerful had any discernable effect on her. I was getting worried.   
"May I suggest Sir that if she is capable of withstanding our drugs that we restrain her, she may look weak and fragile, but looks can be deceiving." He nodded and I proceeded to strap her in, I hoped it would be enough, there was something about her that scared the hell out of me.   
  
Her arms, head and legs securely restrained I tried one final drug, a stimulant of my own concoction, very potent, very strong. I carefully injected her.   
"Well fuck me." I swore; she was STILL unconscious.   
The General, obviously not pleased strode purposefully forward.   
"Wake up. I said, WAKE UP!" He yelled in frustration as he pulled on the woman's long red hair. She instantly awoke and for the second time I heard someone screaming in that god-awful language.   
  
Despite her restraints she was thrashing around quite wildly, I was glad I had restrained her. With the General still holding her by her hair I quickly injected her with translator bots; nano bots designed to allow her to understand us, and vice versa, one of our species crowning achievements, the only problem was that both parties required them for the bots to be effective. The bots would cluster at the top of the brain stem and adapt to their host, implanting our language beside their own while transmitting theirs to our bots so we could understand them, it took only seconds and was very useful.   
  
Moments later what was one incoherent babbling suddenly made sense.   
"My hair, ow my hair, let me go, let me go!"   
"Who are you? Who do you serve?" The General's menacing voice and composure shocked even me and obviously, the woman too; she became instantly silent.   
"Well, who are you and who do you serve? I know you can understand us so stop playing the fool."   
  
I studied her silent face I she considered her current situation, she was calm and cool to the glance, but when I truly looked at her, her eyes betrayed her, her fear was instantly recognizable. Finally she spoke.   
"Release me and I will answer your questions." The General released his grip on her hair, she looked furious, that obviously wasn't what she had meant, but she went with it.   
"I'm your worst nightmare."   
  
Her eyes began to glow as she ripped through first one, then the other wrist restraint and proceeded to undo the others.   
"Now, where is my friend?"   
I was absolutely petrified but the General, un-phased by her display, simply drew his gauss pistol and fired. The red head was struck in the chest several times by the yellow discharges; she fell limp back into the chair she had so recently escaped, her blood dripping to the ground.   
  
I stepped up and scanned her while quickly searching for a pulse. She was dead.   
"Throw the corpse into the recycler, we could use the power, and make sure to destroy her ship." The aid he spoke to acted quickly, he picked up her body and rapidly left. I was still in shock at what had occurred, how could something seemingly so weak compared to us be so powerful? I really was scared now.   
  
I hurriedly left the chamber and returned to my lab, much to my surprise my 'guest' was awake.   
"Hey." She smiled. "Thanks for reattaching my arm you sadistic son-of-a-bitch."   
"You're welcome." I replied. "But I'm afraid I do not see what my mother has to do with anything."   
  
She was, to say the least, shocked; after she last fainted I had taken the liberty of injecting her with translator bots in preparation for her trial, or rather, her execution. I took great pleasure in the look of surprise on her face when she realised she could understand me now - she was left speechless.   
"Don't worry, you won't be here for long, the trial will begin soon."   
  
"You won't get away with this, my friends will find me, and they WILL come for me."   
  
I took note of the fact that she genuinely believed this.   
  
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they have already tried, and failed. A gold woman with long red hair, she never gave her name, not that she had much of a chance. She's dead."   
"Trance…" It was merely a whisper, but it was full of pain. The look on her face rapidly changed from full of hope and as hard as steel to that of someone who has seen more death than they should, I knew that look all too well, I couldn't help but feel some sympathy for her.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Back on the Andromeda, things had gone from bad, to worse. I had left the small ship to be greeted by an army of androids, all wielding some kind of staff, I didn't think twice before shooting any of them, but I left them salvageable on purpose. I strode out into the hallways beyond the hangar deck to the sound of a gauss discharge flying past my head, my body armour would protect most of me, for a while at least, but my head was only partially covered. I turned to locate the shooter only to see a Nietzschean, my anger rose as I realized WHAT he was, despite everything that had happened to my people over the years, the Nietzscheans were the worst, if I had to deal with him this would be really difficult. I raised my hands in surrender.   
"Peace…I…come…peace. Me help. No hurt, me…deserter." I hope they got the message.   



	15. Chapter 15

Part 15

Tyr's POV

  


As I carried Dylan out of the Maru and toward medical my rage grew unbounded. Stupid machine. Wasting my time with duties the ship's bots could perform. Dylan's injuries were the least of our problems.   
  
My steps slowed. Then I halted and lowered the captain to the deck. Over the comms, I bellowed for Trance to get down here and help Dylan. I needed to concentrate, to remember . . . what was that infernal smell?   
  
"Andromeda, where is Trance? Why isn't she responding to my comm?" I snapped; but the Andromeda didn't provide the answer I wanted. Instead all I heard was an intruder alert warning emanating from the Hanger Bay I had just left. "This day just gets better and better" I mumbled as I tapped Dylan lightly across the face to wake him.   
  
When he roused, I placed an armed force lance in his hand and informed him of my intent to eliminate the intruder. He was still groggy; but I made him understand that he needed to shoot any intruders that tried to pass him. I became certain that he was lightheaded from loss of blood when he ordered me to capture an intruder for questioning. At my disgusted look he added, "if possible."   
  
I left him propped against the bulkhead and returned to the hanger just in time to see an intruder exit. Remembering Dylan's request, I fired my first shot just over the creature's head.   
  
When it turned and I saw the alien fully my blood ran cold. I took immediate aim for a kill shot and my finger twitched on the trigger as it called out its surrender. I wanted it dead; it would have been dead already, despite its plea, despite its offer for help, had I not hesitated at Dylan's urging.   
  
Holding a bead between its eyes, I demanded, "How many of you have boarded this vessel?" When the beast indicated that it was alone, I ordered it to lie flat on the floor, face down, with its arms and legs fully extended. Rolling its red eyes in what might have been fright, it complied. Through the hanger door, I could see several bots and Rommie scattered across the floor. All of them looked heavily damaged.   
  
"You do a lot of harm for a beast that claims to desire to help," I snarled, kicking the alien in the side and rolling it to its back. "And you stink." I inserted the barrel of my gun into the teethed orifice that evidently passed for a mouth. "One move and you die," I told it.   
  
"Andromeda," I snapped, "I have captured the intruder. Institute repairs to Rommie and yourself at once. Has Trance reached Dylan yet?"   
  
"Trance is no longer aboard," came Andromeda's eventual reply. "She left in a slipfighter shortly before your return with the Maru."   
  
"Have you traced her course?" I queried, all the while thinking that pixie girl had gone off her rocker, leaving in the middle of a crisis.   
  
"She prevented me," the ship stuttered, managing to sound almost embarrassed.   
  
"Just what I need, two missing females to search for," I groaned. Trance's need for discipline would have to wait for her next training session, which would also have to wait until I had found them both.   
  
Good thing that Andromeda's chief of security had implanted tracking devices on all of the slipfighters. Since it was separate from Andromeda's systems and no one on board knew of its existence, Trance couldn't have disabled it. I could find her once I settled the disposition of the alien.   
  
"Tyr," the ship sounded startled, "the planet, Cata Monje, is also gone. It appears to have imploded."   
  
"Then I guess we won't be retrieving the two slipfighters we left on that rock," I replied philosophically. "Send some bots to take Dylan to medical. If Harper is still there, he can help."   
  
Inside I raged. "If Beka died in that implosion, there won't be enough left of you for the Captain to question," I told my captive coldly.   
  
"She no die yet. Can save," came its response, garbled by the gun barrel in its mouth.   
  
I could see the anger in its countenance. It hated me as thoroughly as I hated it. I knew of its kind, knew what they did to the women they captured. I was only a child when I learned; but I remembered the lesson Barbarossa had taught me. The Alpha of the Barracuda pride had come to ask the Kodiak for aid. Unusual for a pride to admit weakness, but the Barracuda had lost their Matriarch. She had been captured by these beasts and the pride needed Kodiak help to retrieve her. The capture of a Nietzschean matriarch by an alien race was one of the few occasions that Nietzscheans banded together to aid one another. I was too young; Barbarossa did not permit me to fight with them. But he did make sure I witnessed the aftermath. When they found the Barracuda matriarch, she still lived, barely. The Barracudas paraded her dying body to the prides so that all Nietzscheans could learn the nature of their enemy. The aliens had dissected her alive. My father had brought back an alien carcass. Not a normal practice among the Kodiak; but Barbarossa had desired me to see and smell this enemy that stole and tortured females in secrecy. The prides slaughtered all of the beasts they could find, provided no mercy and offered no quarter. And I wanted nothing more than to kill this one.   
  
"Why should I believe that there is enough of her left to save? I've seen what your race does to its captives," the beast blanched as I spoke. It saw its death in my eyes.   
  
"Tyr. Tyr." Andromeda demanded my attention. "Dylan wants you to bring the captive to medical for questioning."   
  
I wanted nothing more than to slay this beast, scramble a slipfighter and find Trance and Beka. But with Andromeda confused, Rommie unconscious, Dylan seriously injured and a broken armed Harper the closest thing on board to a doctor, I knew I couldn't abandon them. Even if I did rescue the women, I'd catch more flak for leaving than gratitude for saving. As much as I hated it, I must be patient a little longer.   
  
"You have been granted a brief reprieve. If you cooperate, I promise the death I eventually grant you shall be quick, unlike the misery you inflict on your victims," I told it. "Now get up!" I kept the barrel of my gun in its mouth and forced the alien to walk backwards the entire distance to medical.   



	16. Chapter 16

Part 16

Dylan's POV

I watched as Tyr brought the struggling alien into the med deck. It snarled and twisted trying to get away, but Tyr kept a firm grip on it's arm, dragging it like a disobidient child. It would have been comical if it wasn't for the gravity of the situation.   
  
"What are you doing on my ship?" I asked the alien point blank. No use to go about the normal social niceties, it didn't deserve them.   
  
"Try to take. Need vessel." The alien managed to say.   
  
"Why do you need the Andromeda, you piece of filth." Tyr snarled.   
  
I waved Tyr back, trying to get him calmed down. If he went off half cocked the alien would likely be lieing dead and I wouldn't have been able to get my answers. However, I did want to hear the answer to the question. I looked toward the alien clearly expecting an answer.   
  
"Go after escaping clan."   
  
Tyr looked at me in mild confusion. Escaping clan? "What do you mean?" I asked.   
  
"Clan. Bad. Want to rule our planet."   
  
I watched the alien look around trying to see if anyone was following. We weren't.   
  
"Ruling clan wouldn't let them. They made planet implode."   
  
I dropped my head. That was something I had heard from Andromeda. The planet was gone, along with Beka. I could feel the weight of the situation start to weigh down on my shoulders before I forcefully straightened up. I was the Captain, this wasn't the time for a guilt trip.   
  
So engrossed in my own thoughts, I almost missed Tyr's next comment. "You said she wasn't dead. How?"   
  
"Escaping Clan." Was all the alien said as if this explained everything.   
  
"You mean, Beka is with the clan that left?" I asked, a spark of hope starting to bloom again. If Beka managed to get away... I didn't finish the thought for fear that I would get my hopes up to high.   
  
"Yes. Yes. Yes." The alien said bobbing his head up and down with each yes.   
  
I suddendly hoped off the med table and stood at full height before the alien. "Where did the ship go?" I asked, just managing to keep from yelling the question.   
  
"Don't know."   
  
I threw my hands up in frustration. This was getting us no where. Beka may or may not be alive, the ship may or may not be found, I wanted to scream with annoyance.   
  
"I know how to find ship. But I need ship to go after ship."   
  
"Yes, we know you need this ship..." I trailed off as I realized what the alien had originally said. "You know how to find the ship?"   
  
"Yes. Yes. Yes. Ships make definite signatures."   
  
I started towards the door, "I want you to tell Tyr how to find the ship, then you are going into confinement."   
  
I started to walk towards the door, but Tyr ran in front, causing me to stop. "This is not a good idea, Captain. These aliens are not to be trusted. I have seen what they can do."   
  
"Really." I said with a sigh. "Well, right now this alien is our only way to find Beka, and I'm not giving up on the chance that we will. I'm gamble on whatever else happens."   
  
I started to walk away again, but Tyr shouted out, "Are you ready to loose?" causing me to stop as I turned the corner.   
  
Was I ready to loose everything to bring back Beka? I was about to find out.   



	17. Chapter 17

Part 17

Haper's POV

  


I was a little woozy and my arm was achy but I had been worse and even if I was hurt bad I wouldn't let it stop me from finding Beka and Trance. Dylan informed me of the foul smelling aliens plans and how my experience in making things work against all odds was desperately needed. Even though I felt a sharp twinge of distrust for the funky deserter, Dylan was right. It was our only hope of finding Beka and Trance but I was sure to give IT my customary -if you're lying to us I'll kill you- squint every chance I could. I worked diligently on Andromeda's sensors trying to calibrate them to the aliens specifications. It seemed to be taking an eternity and with Dylan pacing the bridge and Tyr breathing out his irritation constantly it only made me feel jumpy and rushed.   
  
"Child! When will you be done!" Tyr finally yelled after a good two hours had gone by.   
  
"Tyr this isn't easy…what ever that nasty green guy's people are… Oh and by the way they smell worse then the fishy castalians. But as I was saying…there technology is nothing like ours…It's gonna take some time to first input the fact that yes this technology exists and then to input how to track it. It's like trying to fit the square peg in the circular hole…it's just not gonna fit without modifications and a little rubber hammer." I said and everyone looked around puzzled. I sighed inwardly…no classical education what-so-ever.   
  
"How much longer…" Dylan said rubbing his forehead…lines of worry had started to develop under his bloodshot eyes. It was comforting to know that he did care for his crew as much as he said he did…it was nice to know that someone in this universe could be sincere.   
  
"I'm not sure but I'm sure it'll go faster if I'm left alone!" I squawked staring Tyr down and then shuffling my way under the open panel…I was furious…as if I was taking my sweet time. I had a broken arm god damnit! I would think that would give me some leeway…working with one hand isn't easy. Also I cared about Beka just as much as they did…even more so. I was going as fast as I could, bypassing safety protocols and hacking into andromeda's systems to download the information faster. Tyr threw his hands up and left probably to go beat something while dylan quietly exited behind him. I continued to work but the tedium and frustration started to get to me.   
  
"Andromeda…can you detect the emissions trail?" I asked pausing my tinkering and hoping that I had finally finished.   
  
"I'm sorry Harper…it is still not on a spectrum that my systems recognize." Andromeda said from the huge view screen.   
  
"damnit!" I shouted throwing my tool down in frustration.   
  
"First we lose Beka, then we lose Trance and Rommie….and now I'm stupid cause I can't get this stupid…thingy…to work!" I said whined at the panel that sparked in protest and refused to cooperate.   
  
"We'll find them Harper…but we need you to keep working…you'll figure it out…you're a genius remember." She said and I smiled…that was Andromeda for you…she knew just how to keep me working. I started again…inputting the information into her sensor arrays desperately trying to figure out how to explain this to her systems…this outrageous alien technology. I heard footsteps padding onto the bridge and I groaned…   
  
"Dylan, Tyr…yelling at me isn't going to make this any faster…" I said but a stench hit my nose and I knew exactly who it was. I sat up with a sneer and looked at Dylan who was ushering the skittish alien in.   
  
"Maybe he can help…It can't hurt." Dylan said with a shrug. He palmed his force lance cautiously and backed up to the other side of the bridge to do some reading and to give me some space to work.   
  
"Definite signature." the alien stuttered and I rolled my eyes.   
  
"Yeah, Yeah definite signature…one that Andromeda's systems won't recognize…it's like trying to tell her that 1 plus 1 is three…she just won't accept it." I said angrily poking at the circuits with my good arm. The room went quiet and I fell deep in thought thinking about how much I missed Beka yelling at me and how much I missed Trance turning me down for dinner. I smiled inwardly…I missed them a lot. My day dream was interrupted suddenly and I jumped back and yelped when I felt the aliens cold slimy finger against my data port. Dylan immediately dropped his flexie and drew his forcelance. The alien's hands shot up in submission.   
  
"You…you input data…no restrictions…" the alien spat out quickly nodding toward my data port.   
  
"What?" I said watching the alien intently. Andromeda materialized next to me with her hands folded and a deep frown on her face. It was cute when she got all maternal over me.   
  
"You…you become ship through port…make changes without restrictions…ship can see then." At first I couldn't' understand were he was coming from but it quickly hit me.   
  
"That might work" I whispered…   
  
"huh?" Dylan said still feeling lost and Andromeda's face showed equal amounts of confusion. My mind went into overtime trying to figure out if this was at all possible…whether it was plausible.   
  
"If I became the central AI for this ship then I won't have to worry about the progammed restrictions in Andromeda's core and logic that are keeping her from accepting these signatures. I'll have free reign over the sensors…it'll be like playing your favorite video game…only in god mode." I said with a satisfied smile but rommie didn't seem so pleased with my analogy...I guess referring to her systems as a video game wasn't the best thing.   
  
"How can you become the central AI with Andromeda there?" Dylan said but he looked as if he answered his own question and Andromeda's hologram stiffened.   
  
"For this to work…we'd have to create a back up of andromeda…and then erase her from the system…" I said and andromeda tried not to show dread but I could see it…I could feel it coming off of her. Dylan realized he was still holding his force lance up and slowly brought his hand down and turned to andromeda directly…   
  
"Andromeda…can this work?"   
  
"It's possible for it to work…"   
  
"Then I guess the only question that remains is will you do it?"   
  
"This is the only avenue we have left to find Beka and Trance…I'll do it." Andromeda said and the room felt quiet with the wieght of the decision we had just made.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
We all stood in andromeda's central AI core waiting for me to hack in and begin the plan that would ultimately erase andromeda from this ship…sure we'd make a back up and reinstate her later…but the thought of being "erased"…it was like we were killing her.   
  
"What exactly are you about to do?" Dylan said still unsure of the details.   
  
"After you give the order for andromeda's AI to be shut down the system will prompt me on installing another central intelligence…I'll jack in and take over…" I made it sound much more simple then it would be...a lot had to go right.   
  
"Won't your brain fry?…that's the reason ships have AI's. No human can take on so many tasks at once."   
  
"I know...I'll have to partition all other systems off but sensors…it might still be to much from my little brain but I'm willing to take that chance."   
  
"So that means that everything will have to be done manually…"   
  
"yes…everything…fire control, life support, hell even the temperatures in your showers…"   
  
"What about rommie?"   
  
"I'm not sure…she should still be able to function…but we'll find out once her repairs are done and she's reactivated."   
  
"This is stupid! You do not see what that alien is doing? It's a trap…Don't you think it's ironic that the plan to shut down our AI and weaken us was given to us by the enemy?" Tyr said with extreme frustration.   
  
"It's our only option…if we are gonna find Beka and Trance this is the only way." Tyr softened some and looked away. That was his way of saying go ahead and do it. Dylan turned to the small monitor on the wall to be greeted by a smiling Andromeda.   
  
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Dylan said   
  
"I'm sure." Andromeda said holding her chin high and looking brave for her captain and crew. Dylan smiled back and then stepped away from the console… he begun the top secret code but it was all a blur until the end…that's when it hit me…   
  
"Authorization…captain Dylan hunt…"   
  
and then she was gone….   



	18. Chapter 18

Part 18

Beka's POV

  


Trance is dead. No! She can't be. She doesn't die. They don't know that but it's true. Of course, things have changed since--. I'm not going to think about it.   
  
I squeeze my eyes shut. I'm not going to cry. I won't give these sadistic sons-of-bitches the satisfaction.   
  
I don't know why I can understand their language now. It's just one more thing I don't know and won't be able to figure out. O.K. So now what?   
  
I open my eyes again and try to look around. As far as I can tell there's only one of them in the room with me and it's ignoring me. For now. I guess as long as I stay quiet then I can stay awake. How lovely. Must be a lot of work involved in keeping me captive? Good. I don't want to be easy on them.   
  
I'm starting to feel despair creeping up on me. Not good. Have to get my mind on something else. But what? All that I can think of is my captivity and that lends itself very well to despair.   
  
So what do I know? Precious little. Apparently they think I'm guilty of some sort of crime. Hence the trial talk. Neat trick that. It's very hard to commit a crime against anyone you never saw before in your whole life. Maybe that's just an excuse. Yeah, that's it. Because this so called 'trial' of mine is a foregone conclusion. Execution is going to follow, I can just tell. Sounds like the trial is just a formality and they're going to kill me. Probably always their plan. And they probably won't even tell me why. After all, I'm just the person they're going to execute. What do I matter?   
  
I have a lump in my throat. I swallow hard. O.K. I'm going to die. That's a given, it seems. But then why bother with all the medical stuff they've done to me? I'm obviously a human guinea pig for them. For what purpose? It doesn't make any sense. Then again, nothing about this whole situation makes any sense.   
  
I don't know how long I've been here but whatever they've done to me has screwed me up. Well, my eyes at least. But who knows what else? Of course, if I'm going to be killed, it really doesn't matter. Except it does. What right have they to do this to me? I'm not some lab rat to be experimented on.   
  
Is this how I'm going to be executed? Probably. I'm going to pay by being a specimen for them to do whatever the hell they feel like doing. I'm going to spend the rest of my short life like this and when I've outlived my usefulness they will then kill me. Wonderful. I so love this.   
  
I'll never see my friends again. Trance, I'm sorry for whatever happened to you. I know you tried your best to save me. I do appreciate it. I'm just sorry that it was in vain.   
  
Andromeda. Rommie. I enjoyed living and serving aboard you and with you. I didn't know it at first but I've come to realize it. You are not just a machine. You are truly human.   
  
Rev, wherever you are, I hope you have found the peace and happiness you deserve. If our paths never cross again just know that you were truly important to me. If you ever hear of what happened to me I know you will pray for me and my soul and that means a lot.   
  
Tyr, I liked and respected you, even if you didn't feel the same way. Please take care of yourself. Oh, wait. You're Neitzschean so you will. And I don't mean that last in a bad way. I'm going to miss you because I consider you my friend.   
  
Harper, I'm not going to be around to take care of you anymore. I'm sorry about that because you need a lot of care. Try not to get in too much trouble, all right.   
  
And now Dylan. If I know you at all, you're probably feeling guilty for sending me out on the mission. Yeah, I remember that. I just don't remember how I got from going on the mission to here. It's not your fault. You didn't know what was going to happen or else you wouldn't have sent me out. Please don't let this destroy you. I'd hate that.   
  
The more that I think about it the more I wonder if this wasn't some sort of trap. I can't be sure because I don't have all the facts. A memory gap will do that to a person. But it's a good theory.   
  
I'm going to miss all of you. My friends. My family. I love you. I'd give anything to be with you all right now but it's not going to happen. I wish I could have had a chance to say good-bye to you all.   
  
In spite of myself tears trickle out of my eyes. I can't even wipe them away. I hear that thing approach me and I tense up. But it doesn't do anything to me. It just stands there looking at me. I turn away. It knows I'm crying but I'm not going to let it get pleasure out of my tears.   
  
"Why are you crying?"   
  
Oh, that's rich. I'm so angry now. I can't yell because the mask I'm wearing muffles my voice but since I can talk to it now I figure I'll answer its question.   
  
"Why am I crying? Maybe because I don't enjoy being cut up and having unknown procedures done to me. Maybe because I don't know why I'm here. I've never seen your kind before in my life. I've never done anything to you so why are you out to hurt me? I don't understand. I miss my friends and my home. I just want to get the hell out of here. I'm crying because you killed a friend of mine who was only trying to save me. I just want out"   
  
I'm getting agitated again. I don't care. It's hopeless so what does it matter? I'm thrashing around and I don't care anymore. Despair has an ironclad grip on my soul.   
  
It moves away from me. I know where it's going. It's going to get another injector. "Stay away from me, you freak" Just then another one of those things enters. It comes over to the other one. They talk. I stop thrashing because I'm curious but I can't hear what they're saying. They both just leave. But not before I get injected again. I didn't make it easy for them. So, even if in the end, the blackness came back, at least I fought. I'm proud of that.   



	19. Chapter 19

Part 19

Trance's POV 

Darkness, all I feel is darkness, and pain, but it was fading fast. I felt fuzzy, where was I? It smells in here. I think, reaching into my mind. Then the events come storming back, the shooting pain, like my body was being torn apart from one little hole, then darkness again.   
  
My eyes shoot open, I take in as much air as I can, and let it out slowly. I can't see, there's something over my eyes, a body. I throw it off and sit up I'm in a dark room with bodies and junk around me. I grab my chest, then I remember. 'He shot me.. The bistered shot me' all fear and confusion I had went out the window at that moment and was quickly replaced by anger, nothing but pure anger. I jump to my feet and look up at the small hole, I could get out of it.   
  
I scan the room, my eyes looking into any nuke and cranny. For any kind of weapon, I see one, a pointed rod, I quickly walk over to it and grab it, and look at it thinking of its uses. I freeze as my hearing picks up movement out side the little hole, someone was coming. Faster than the human eye could follow I spring up to the corner plastering myself to the wall. As if on cue the door slides open and the being pokes his head in. I grab the rod and throw it, it flies right into its neck, in one nice motion, the being makes some frantic jester to grab at its neck but it was hopeless and soon fell limp. I watch it fall to the bottom of the pit, and jump back down and look at it. I notice the spikes on its elbows I slowly reach down and break it off examining it, a small grin appears on my lips, and I put it where one of my twin blades used to be, I reach down and break the other one off as well and put it in the other holder.   
  
I jump up to the wall again and out the hole to the smooth floor I look from side to side. Again I freeze hearing more movement, I move down the hall in the opposite direction of the movement. they would soon find the body I would have to work fast. I quickly find a control panel, but I don't know how to work it, it has too many blocks and I don't have the time to over write them all, I would have to come back later. For now I'd have to do this the hard way, I couldn't feel Beka anywhere, she wasn't dead was she? I feel fear again, 'no' I tell myself 'she can't be, you'd know, have hope and all will be okay'.   
  
I soon find a conduct, and open it, crawling inside. I sit up against the wall and breath. I jump as I hear someone yell in anger and feet running . I stop breathing and listen, the footsteps grow louder and louder, then quieter and quieter. They had missed me, ok that was good. But I couldn't stay here long they would surely think to look here. So I begin to move through the conduct stopping every so often to look into a room to see if I can use it to my advantage. But so far nothing of the sort. I move a little farther, and look down into the room, and see it. The one thing I want to see more than Beka, a wicked smile spreading on my face a stare down at the alien, the one that had shot me.   
  
I kick the panel open and jump into the room, hitting the floor hard. Catching the being off guard, he goes to draw his weapon, but before he could even take aim, I'm in front of him knocking the gun out of his hand and across the room.   
  
He makes a dash at a com, I shoot in front of him again and ask in the same tone I've ask Harper a hundred times "Whatcha doing?"   
His nostrils flare, his eyes get larger and if possible I think his face might have went red. My face turns to a evil smile as I look into its eyes, then in a far darker tone I speak "You look mad...you should be" I smile even more "you should be a little scared to... cause you're not making it out of this room."   
  
At that he swung at me, I bend my back, back and reach out grabbing his arm, I look back into his eyes then at his wrist where my hand lay, I move my eyes down his elbow and that spike, a sweet smile appears on my face for a second before I reach out and rip the spick off forcefully and toss it to the side. The thing lets out a primal scream, part pain, part anger.   
  
I look at him with my eye brows raised "Aww dose that hurt, try getting a shot in the chest then we'll talk" he takes another swing at me, I grab that arm as well and squeeze it, harder and harder until I hear a nice little crunch. He lets out another yell. Throwing the useless arm to the his side, that evil smile returns "Lets see if this compares" Faster than he can follow I grab the spike I had acquired earlier and jabbed it into his chest until I hit something.   
  
He lets out a gasped breath and I push him down to the floor, he falls to his back and looks up at me, a state of confusion in his eyes. I squat next to him and smile again "can't move huh." I reach out and turn his neck fast hear that ever so lovely snap. I stand and look down at the body and speak in a Harper mock "Think of it this way, by you death someone gets promoted, so I've done someone a favor" I laugh at the dead body.   
  
I spot the computer on his desk and walk over to it I begin to type frantically. Soon I find out where Beka is.   
  
I pop my head up as I hear someone coming, I turn back to the computer and type in a coded message to the Andromeda , telling them that Beka and I are still alive. With that bit done I jump back on the desk and into the conduct. Heading for Beka.   



	20. Chapter 20

Part 20

Aliens POV

  


I was so bored, my examinations were complete, she was the descendant of the one who had destroyed our world, albeit unintentionally and we would probably have done so anyway for we could no longer live there, but still, he had committed genocide by doing so, and someone had to pay. We had discovered his body floating in space in a shroud of some sort; he had been dead for almost a decade, now, almost 40 years after the act, we would finally have justice; or so it seemed. Through our sources we learned of his offspring, a son we could not locate, and a daughter, first officer of the high guard flagship, now anyway, she had been a freighter pilot, so many freighter pilots had lay where she now did while I attempted to compare her DNA with the sample we had, so many, I was glad we had finally found her, this would soon be over; although, the ending would not be happy.   
  
I walked over to the accused, the descendant on Ignaishious Valentine, her trial would definitely find her guilty, the sentence would be death, the method would be nova injection, a method so painful and slow it would make her plead for mercy. I cringed just thinking about it, the injection of liquefied voltarium into the bloodstream, it would send her temperature soaring, her heart would explode followed by every other organ until the brain, then, her body would melt away to nothing, it really was quite unpleasant.   
  
I notice her stirring and I walk over, I notice she is crying.   
"Why are you crying?"   
She seems to take offence to that.   
"Why am I crying? Maybe because I don't enjoy being cut up and having unknown procedures done to me. Maybe because I don't know why I'm here. I've never seen your kind before in my life. I've never done anything to you so why are you out to hurt me? I don't understand. I miss my friends and my home. I just want to get the hell out of here. I'm crying because you killed a friend of mine who was only trying to save me. I just want out"   
  
I spy a loaded hypo and walk away to get it. I turn back to her ready to inject her but just as I do, the General comes in.   
"I have sent for the body of the other one it is being brought to you as we speak, she is of a race we have never seen before, find out everything you can about her."   
"May I sedate her?" I point to my patient. "I believe the trauma of seeing her friend may be too much for her, the trial would go much better if she were actually awake during it."   
"Very well. Learn as much as you can of this golden woman, but learn quickly, the trial shall begin soon."   
I walk back over to her and inject her. She struggled, thrashing about, making it difficult to insert the injector, but once it was in, she fell asleep instantly.   
"It may not be much, but this will ease your suffering. I truly am sorry."   
*****************   
While I waited for the guards to deliver the corpse of her companion I studied the blonde woman some more, she really was as tough as she acted, I could see it on her face, she had seen more than her fair share of death and pain, I really did feel sorry for her.   
  
That's when it happened. The alert sirens began blaring.   
"INTRUDER ALERT, INTRUDER ALERT. All personnel be on the look out for the Gold skinned woman, she has killed General Kell'vak, she is to be considered armed and dangerous, be cautious."   
  
At that moment I knew it would have been best to have been anywhere else, but I just could not leave, I was responsible for my patient, I was responsible for all the pain I had caused her, I was responsible for the pain I had caused them all, I had finally found my sweet release; death. So I waited for her companion.   
  
I did not have to wait long, I heard the gunfire outside in the corridor, all two seconds of it. When the door opened to admit the golden warrior before me I saw the path of destruction she had left behind her, literally dozens of bodies littered the hallway she had come down and she held no weapons in her hands other than a pair of elbow spikes, I cringed at the sight of them, and she had not a scratch on her, I prayed she would kill me quickly. It was not to happen, she just stood there staring at me, the fury in her eyes more terrifying than anything I had ever seen, a new smell suddenly entered the room.   
'Perfect. Just perfect.' I thought, 'Of all the danger I've ever been in, it's a woman who makes me shit myself.'   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
I looked around the now darkened command deck of the Andromeda Ascendant - Pride of the High Guard fleet indeed, I had seen more impressive Garbage Scows, but everything was going perfectly.   
  
"That's it Dylan, she's gone." Harper muttered as he made his way towards the nearest console. "Holy shit, we forgot to make a backup!"   
  
Everything and everyone froze. "Ok, not as funny as I thought."   
  
The Captain scowled at him, but the Nietzschean looked as if he was going to tear the little human limb from limb, 'These two would be great in the arena's' I thought.   
  
The rest of the crew stepped up to consoles and assumed manual control over the ships systems as I stood in wait, waiting for my opportunity, my chance to strike.   
  
"You go in now, fix, follow." I was sick of talking like this, this was a reason I had learned common in the first place, but now, being forced to speak as if I was a child, I was a Major in the Gorgonyte Military for crying out loud, this was beneath me.   
  
I watched as the one called Harper sat down and jacked in to the now dead VR MATRIX.   
  
************   
A few silent minutes later he appeared on the main screen.   
"Ok Dylan, I'm in." He looked to be in some pain. "This is a lot more taxing than I thought it would be but I've got control of sensors, I can use a lot of the smaller peripheral programs too…but not at the same time, sensors are just too much to try and use anything else, you want me use something else I'll have to…I'll have to switch…switch sensors off."   
"Harper, are you alright?"   
"I'll be fine Tyr, just eh, when we get outta this, I want a month on Infinity Atoll, no questions asked."   
"Deal, I think we could all do with some time off, can you find that ship?" Dylan's hope was showing through now that Harper was ok; he was one step closer to getting Beka back.   
"Yeah, I've got the trail, sending it…sending it to the helm now." Dylan stepped up and took the helm. He activated the Slipstream Drive and flowed the ships trail.   
  
***********   
Things were going much better than I thought; I would soon get my chance.   
  
The Andromeda exited Slipstream into the Tellemyte system.   
"Harper, can you launch sensor drones?"   
"I…I don't think so, the extra feed would be a little too much. Dylan, they might not even be in the system."   
"Yeah I know. Alright, passive systems only, see what you can find, but try not be discovered."   
"That not help. Our ships, no detect, passive useless." Ok, so it was a lie, but they didn't know that.   
  
I hoped that they would believe me; after all, they had bought everything else, hook, line and sinker. I was not disappointed.   
"Explain."   
"Our ships, parts alive, skin, interfere with sensors." It was all true in some way; but it was also false, this innocent child act really was a good idea, I'd have to make sure I told the General when I got back.   
  
Unfortunately, their Captain Hunt was not quite as foolish as I had first hoped, he rejected my recommendation and continued with passive sensors, no matter, our ship would have detected the slipstream event by now, the final stage of this part of the plan would soon come to a close.   
  
Soon we would rid ourselves of this commonwealth menace and take their ship as our own, the things we could do with a ship like this, why it was simply unimaginable.   
  
I had not realised it, but they had been talking while I had been dreaming.   
"Are you sure its another signature?"   
"Abso–friggin-lutely, bearing 090 by –67 at 7 light minutes out, looks like its running."   
"Where would it go?" He asked me expectantly.   
I simply shrugged; I think my excitement was so high right now that had I actually answered, I would have screamed in glee.   
"Alright Tyr, ready a full spread of missiles, but disable them ONLY, is that clear?"   
He grunted and acknowledgment. I found it rather funny how Captain Hunt could allow someone so treacherous and scheming and untrustworthy to roam his decks as a member of his crew, then again, he had allowed me to live.   
"Does that ship have even a slight weakness we can use to our advantage?" He actually thought I was going to help, like I was really going to tell him.   
'Their primary sensor grid is exposed to space, a single direct hit will disable it, their engines are internal, only the exhaust ports are accessible, but you can disable their slipstream drive, the regulator runs along the outer hull.' Or at least that's what I was thinking, what I said was very different.   
"Sensors exposed, ventral hull. Engines hidden. Slipstream regulators, easy hit, disable ship good."   
  
I watched as he looked over at the Nietzschean, he nodded his agreement and targeted the two sensor pallets and the regulator, in actuality redundant systems. Even at their current speed, we would not catch up to the fleeing ship before they entered slipstream anyway, after that, it came down to who was the better pilot; that was what worried me.   
  
I was becoming very tense, something which did not go unnoticed by the Captain and the Nietzschean, both were eyeing me suspiciously as I stood in the corner out of the way, we were only a few seconds behind the ship we were chasing, not far enough, it would be close.   
We jumped back into normal space only to be surrounded by an armada of ships, cruisers, corvettes, destroyers, transports, everything, our entire fleet was assembled for this, we wanted the Andromeda, I want the Andromeda as my flagship, as the new General and commander of the Fleet, I would make sure of it.   
  
I lost my balance as the first missiles impacted the hull and was thrown to the ground, as I regained my composure and stood I failed to notice the charged Gauss Gun pointed at my head as I spoke.   
"I am Major Rak'han of the Gorgonyte Military, you have two choices, stay and be killed, or leave your ship and forget about us and live. What will it be?"   
"I prefer choice number three, if I may Captain."   
"And what would that be Tyr?"   
"That we kill it, and kill all of them, and that we take Beka back by force, and get rid of this scum, I believe the universe would be eternally grateful if we did." My eyes went wide with fear at this statement, all four of them, I had not expected that.   
  
Suddenly Harper makes his presence known, the distraction is enough for me to make a move towards a conduit, I hear the shots impact on the bulkhead above me, but I am safe now.   
"Guys, I just got a coded comm. From Trance, she and Beka are still alive, well, she was killed but Beka's still alive, I'm trying to triangulate but, well, I suck at math, its goinna take some time."   
"Well, that's good, at least we know they're out there, the question is, where. What I would do for a Battle Group right about now. Tyr, defensive fire only, take out any missiles they fire, I'll take offensive, Harper, take the helm, duck and weave. Lets bring it."   
"What about the sensors?" Tyr was concerned, for once.   
"Different circuit, Targeting Sensors are liked to fire control." Rommie said as she strode into command, her 'wound' patched up by one of the techs on Harper's engineering squad.   
"Harper, get out of my matrix, its payback time." He happily obliged and Rommie immediately took control of her ship self. 


	21. Chapter 21

Note from Dragon- This story is still going, I will continue to update as it comes. And thanks to the great reviews so far.

Part 21

Try's POV

"Fools, I was surrounded by fools." The Gorgonyte reeked of treachery. The rebel clan story   
was an obvious lie; but Dylan had decided to trust the beast. Worse, he had ordered me to   
interrogate it; and he meant me to gather the information gently before depositing the creature in   
a confinement cell.   
  
The thing was intelligent enough to look concerned that Dylan had left its questioning to me. Its   
red and black eyes widened as I lifted my weapon and took aim. "So," I drawled, "tell me about   
your shops' signatures. If I don't like what I hear, you start losing limbs."   
  
"Your Captain no say you can hurt me," the beast whined.   
  
I backhanded it, sending it flying backwards a few feet before it hit the med lab wall. "Do I look   
like an obedient lap dog to you?" I responded. "You didn't answer my question. Better try   
harder if you expect to live long enough to reach confinement."   
  
"Tyr," Harper exclaimed, hopping from the table and grabbing one of my arms.   
  
My eyes never left the alien as I said, "you may find recalibrating the sensors difficult with two   
broken arms little man." As his hand dropped, I continued, "Perhaps you should gather your   
equipment and find your way to the bridge to make preparations. I'll meet you there when I finish   
with the prisoner."   
  
Moving toward the door, Harper said, "Tyr, we need him."   
  
"No child, we don't," was my cold reply as I ordered the andromeda to lock the door behind him.   
  
"Ships make signatures fifth dimension," the creature began, all the while its four eyes searched   
for an avenue of escape from me.   
  
"No kidding," I smiled, "Tell me more."   
  
"Combined circuts, organic, inorganic. Biologic mask sensor track." As it spoke, I moved to   
the opposite side of the treatment table from it, opened a cabinet and took out a small hypo-   
injector. I inserted the instrument into the medical treatment equipment and entered a password   
that bypassed normal medical protocols.   
  
"Just need modify sensors to search for biologic residue in the fifth dimension," the Gorgonyte   
continued, its eyes darting back and forth as it watched my preparations warily.   
  
Apparently fear of me improved its ability to speak rather than hampering it, just one more little   
clue that it lied.   
  
As I tapped my instructions into the computer, the hypo filled with a saline solution. Then I   
added a radioactive marker. When the beast eventually betrayed us, I'd have no trouble tracking   
it. The piece de resistance was the bandage I planned to use to cover the injection site. I pulled it   
from my belt and placed it next to the hypo, both out of the creature's sight. My own design, the   
adhesive contained an explosive compound. Set to my vocal patterns, the tiny sonic trigger   
would detonate when I whistled at a specific pitch.   
  
"What modifications did you have in mind?" I asked it while I worked.   
  
"You give hand scanner. I show," the manipulative critter demanded.   
  
"Sure," I grinned, pulling a spare scanner from a drawer. In one hand I held the scanner; in the   
other I concealed the hypo-injector. I handed the scanner to the Gorgonyte with a word of   
warning, "If I don't like what I see, you die."   
  
While I watched, it entered code rapidly, reconfiguring the hand scanner in only a few minutes.   
  
"Thank you for your cooperation," I said when it finished, patting it hard between the shoulder   
blades as I did so to hide the feel of the hypo. "Look's like you've got an injury, I said when it   
winced. "Let me put a bandage on that." Pretending to pull it from the drawer, I activated the   
trigger on the explosive patch and slapped it across the creature's spine.   
  
I smiled again, showing the beast my own teeth as I took it by the arm and walked it briskly to   
confinement where I placed it in a maximum security cell.   
  
Quickly I copied the information it had provided to a second hand terminal. Then I brought the   
original to Harper who was pacing the bridge nervously.   
  
"It's about time," he complained, "what took you so long?" Brushing his attempt at bravado   
aside, I told him to stop complaining and get to work.   
  
When it became obvious that Harper was having difficulty integrating the alien modifications with   
Andromeda's circutry and my impatience was distracting him, I took the opportunity to return to   
my quarters where I tried to locate the tracking signature from the slipfighter Trance had taken.   
The only signals I could get were intermittent and garbled as if the signal were masked or the   
transmitter damaged.   
  
Finally I combined the intelligence I had copied from the alien with the tracking program. The   
results surprised even me. I discovered not one; but many ships' signatures. "Rebel clan my ass,"   
I muttered to myself, "Looks more like an entire fleet."   
  
I secured a few additional weapons about my person before leaving my quarters and visiting the   
torpedo bay where I replaced several batteries of standard torpedoes with modified cluster head   
models.   
  
Finally I headed back toward the bridge only to have the ship tell me to meet Dylan and Harper in   
the AI core.   
  
When I arrived, the two were moments away from erasing Andromeda and replacing her with   
Harper at the Gorgonyte's urging. As usual, they ignored my warning and persisted in their   
decision to deliver a crippled warship into the midst of the enemy. The prisoner was almost   
beside itself with glee. Unwilling to be party to this idiocy and not wanting to permit the captive   
an opportunity to learn the AI access code, I grasped the alien's arm and dragged it with me to   
the command deck.   
  
Shoving the Gorgonyte into a corner and ordering it to remain still, I proceeded to separate   
weapons functions and helm control from the rest of Andromeda's systems. I had just finished   
when the lights dimmed, Andromeda's face disappeared from the main screen and Dylan and   
Harper entered command.   
  
I had to give the little man credit. He was a fool; but he had guts. The strain of sifting through   
the Andromeda's sensor data showed on his screen image; but he didn't quit.   
  
I watched the captive closely as we entered the Tellemyte system. While it was distracted by   
Dylan's questions, I connected the scanner containing my tracking program to the weapon's   
console. Didn't want to blow up Beka and Trance when I took out the rest of the fleet.   
  
I paid close attention to the Gorgonyte's targeting instructions and did the opposite. Since   
weapons were on manual, the rest of the command deck inhabitants remained blissfully ignorant   
of my preparations. When the alien fleet surrounded us, I was prepared. It didn't realize it yet;   
but the beasts overconfidence was going to allow me to exterminate them all. I locked and armed   
a spread of the cluster torpedoes I had loaded earlier.   
  
As Harper reported receiving Trance's message and our arrogant alien prisoner slipped into a   
conduit, Dylan took a few shots at it with his force lance and missed. Rattled, he abandoned the   
helm momentarily and ordered Harper to take it, forgetting apparently that Harper was   
overwhelmed just trying to maintain sensor information flow.   
  
I ignored Dylan's order about defensive fire and launched a barrage of cluster torpedoes at the   
thickest concentrations of ships, being careful to avoid the ship carrying the remains of Trance's   
slipfighter. "Stay away from my weapons console Captain," I sneered, "and get back to flying this   
ship. Or do you really think that Harper is a more capable pilot than you in a situation that calls   
for instant and experienced reaction?"   
  
A jury-rigged Rommie appeared and ordered Harper out of the ship's matrix. Bad choice piled   
upon worse choice as Harper complied and Rommie tried to reboot the ship's backup AI in the   
midst of combat. If I hadn't decoupled weapons and helm, we would have been helpless.   
  
I fired another spread of modified torpedoes. Half of their fleet was destroyed; but the reboot   
wasn't going well. The alien code acted like a virus shutting down connected systems a few   
moments after they reactivated. Harper struggled to keep the shields up while rommie tried to   
filter out the corrupt code. Once again at the helm, Dy;an fought to keep the ship out of the path   
of enemy fire.   
  
  
"Dylan, I've isolated the ship carrying Trance and Beka," I revealed.   
  
"Good work," he sounded surprised, "continue to fire upon attacking vessels."   
  
I nodded. Did he really think I intended to stop?   
  
"Rommie," Dylan called, "do we have Andromeda back yet?"   
  
"Not entirely," she replied, "I'm still working on it."   
  
"As soon as we do, open a comm channel to the ship holding Trance and Beka and demand its   
surrender," Dylan ordered.   
  
Andromeda's face appeared briefly on screen and then flickered off again.   
  
"I think Rak'han has accessed a computer console somewhere," Rommie admitted, "As soon as I   
remove the problem pieces of code, someone reenters them."   
  
"As I launched another barrage I asked her, "do we have internal comms?"   
  
"Intermittently," she responded.   
  
"Next time they are up, tell me immediately," I demanded, "and broadcast what I say to the whole   
ship."   
  
"Why," she snapped petulantly, "I have enough to worry about without catering to your whims   
right now."   
  
"I don't have time to answer your questions now," I retorted as I fired again, "just do as I say."   
  
"Do it Rommie," Dylan ordered, "Our paranoid security chief has clearly been preparing for the   
worst."   
  
A few moments later she called out, "internal comm channel open shipwide."   
  
I whistled.


	22. Chapter 22

Part 22

Dylan's POV

From the helm, I almost jumped at the high pitched whistle eminating from Tyr. Inside I settled for a painful wince and then a quick look over a my weapon's officer. What the hell was he trying to do? However, any explaination was quickly cut off with Rommie's sudden announcement.   
  
"The interference has stopped. I'm reinstating Andromeda AI."   
  
Andromeda appeared on the screen and Harper fainted almost simultaneuously, causing confusion as no one knew what to do. I wanted to go over and help Harper, Beka would kick my ass if anything ever happening to the little guy, but at the same time I had to stay at the helm.   
  
"Rommie, check on Harper." I ordered.   
  
I watched as she walked over to Harper and then knelt down beside him. "He's should be fine in a couple of hours." She glared at me for a second. "That was a really risky thing you let him do, Captain."   
  
I couldn't do anything but nod. I had known the risks and I had judged them acceptable. Gullible, Gullible, Gullible, I said to myself in a silent tirade. If Tyr hadn't done whatever he did, things could have been a lot worse.   
  
I turned back to Tyr only to be interrupted by Tyr's sudden, "Captain!"   
  
I whipped back to look at the screen and saw a ship explode infront of us just in time. If the ship had gotten any closer, we would have had a major problem.   
  
"Do I need to remind you we are in the middle of a battle." Tyr almost yelled at me from across the bridge.   
  
"No you don't, Mr. Anasazi, just keep firing." I made sure that this time my eyes stayed glued to the screen. Dodging a few more ships, I watched as Tyr finished off 3/4 of the alien fleet.   
  
"Andromeda, open a comm channel. There bastards are going to surrender now!"   
  
I heard a muttered, "Not likely," coming from Tyr but chose to ignore it. I would ask him later what and how he knew about this aliens but right now I needed to get to Beka and Trance.   
  
"Comm channel open." Andromeda replied quickly having her image replaced with that of the alien armada.   
  
"This is the Commonwealth Starship Andromeda, to the Gorgonyte fleet. You will surrender now." I didn't bother to offer the cliched or die for the majority of the fleet had already lost there lives to whatever they wanted to achieve. Silently I hoped that they were smart enough to now when to surrender.   
  
"Recieving message from Gorgonyte fleet." Rommie announced.   
  
An alien, much like the one we that was currently on our ship, appeared on the foreward viewscreen replacing the armada. "We will not surrender." The creature said hiss. "It is our way to fight till the very end, our soldiers have been trained to die, have yours?"   
  
I stopped for a second at the fluidity of the alien's speech. His common was impeciable, the exact opposite of Rak'han. I mentally added in another lie that our 'guest' had perpetuated while on the ship.   
  
"We believe in diplomacy over war, but so far you have offered us very little choice. You are presently confining two of my officers, you have attacked your ship, and you have an officer on board that was until very recently trying to sabatoge my ship."   
  
The alien looked impressed for a second. "And did Major Rak'han succeed?"   
  
"Thankfully no." I said strongly.   
  
"Pity." The Gorgonyte replied. "It would have brought such an easy solution to all of our problems. As it is Captain, I can not surrender any more than you can. We have only kept your officer, Beka Valentine, because of the gravity of her injustice toward's my people. As for your other officer, if she behaves she may be returned to you. For your sake hope she does." With that the alien disconnected the comm channel.   
  
"Captain, their weapons are locking on to us." Rommie's voice rang through the silence.   
  
"Damn it. Why can't anything ever be easy. Tyr target the ships, but just disable them."   
  
I watched as Tyr made short work of the alien armada. Then suddenly the unthinkable happened. Every ship exploded in a long chain that finished off the fleet. I covered my eyes with my hands to protect from the brightness of the explosion. When it was over, one word was on my lips. "Beka."   
  
I watched with stunned silence as the rest of the crew, what was left of it looked out on to the reckage. It was absolutely desolated. No life could have possibly survived. I'm so sorry. Beka, Trance, I'm so sorry.   
  
Rommie jarred me out of my thoughts with her sudden announcement. "Captain, I'm detecting one slippoint opening. It's one of the Gorgonyte ships, they're preparing for slipstream."   
  
"Damn it, go after them!" I shouted.   
  
I watched as Rommie and Tyr busily went to work. Here we go again, I thought just as I turned back to the helm.   



	23. Chapter 23

Part 23

Trance's POV  
  
  
I sit in a conduct, thinking of my recent actions. As the ship goes into slipstream and out. I had resorted back to what I was before I came back to this time. I let a small tear fall down my cheek, quickly I shook my head, whipping the tear away. No time for that, Beka was at the end of this hall, I had 15 of those...things between me and her and I was not gonna let them stop me, not now, not after I had came this far. 

Minutes passed as I went through the possible ways this could work out, 3 would get me there alive, not a good number. Okay one I would be hurt, nope can't have that. One I wouldn't kill any of them, and the other I killed them all. I pulled the spikes out of there holders and smiled, time to work.

I pushed the conduct door open and slowly stepped out, looking at the stunned faces. "Hi! Looking for me?" I ducked out of the way of a shot aimed for my head, rolling until I was a inch in front of shooter. "Guess so" I gab the spike into his head and pull it out. By now the others were firing at me. I dodge them too, taking out one guy by slicing his stomach open, then another by taking his head off. Next a grab one and throw him against my front using the classic 'enemy as the shield' he catches five shots before I toss him aside and roll again out of the way, I grab another ones foot and pull him down quickly breaking his neck, I look up as one runs at me, I reach down and break off the spike and throw it, hitting him smack in the head. I pick up the spike I had dropped and with both spikes this time gab them into ones chest where I hoped lungs would be, never the less he fell to the floor, by this time they were trying to run, I grab a gun and shoot two in the back, and was about to shot again when I felt a shot go by my ear, I stand up and speed over to him bringing my foot to his throat pushing my heel into it, cutting off air flow. Another fire almost hits me, I spin around and throw a spike at it, the spike fly through his stomach and into another ones head. I give a small laugh at that and run at the last three now shooting madly. In one fluid motion I break all there necks.

I turn around and look at my work, the bodies litter the floor. I look at one who was still moving, the one who had, had a spike through the stomach, his beanie eyes staring at me in fear. I could end his pain now I think, but in the end turn back around a face the door to Beka. I walk into it a see another one. I'm about to jump an kill him when I see it's fear, pure fear, and I smell it, scared shit less none the less. He must be young I think before pinning him against the wall, all his eyes widen "No..No.. don't kill me!" 

I laugh "Don't kill you!?" I look at him closer "You're the one that stood by and watched him shoot me!"

His body shook under my grasp "Please... I'm only an intern, I don't like what they're doing!"

My eyes stared into his eyes, "Ok explain you're self then." I let his small body fall, keeping a very close eye on his ever movement .

He picks him self up and looks at me, then at the one spike in my hand and the blood, then back to my eyes. "Your friend, she being tried for a crime her father committed, he destroyed our planet, by the time we hunted him down, he was dead and only she and her brother remained, so we will put her on trial. I don't like it at all, but like I said I'm only an intern, so I can't really say if I like it or not I just do what they say." he trembled as I eyed him more seeing if he was lying to me.

I look at him "You're not lying, fine, if you want to live, you'll help me get Beka off this ship, First you'll gonna get you friends away from this room tell them anything you want but if you tell them I'm here I'll stick that spick of your's in your neck and take Beka anyway. Do I make myself clear?"

He nodded and moved to a consol "Sir! She's taken the captive, she's heading for launch bay 2"

I look at him anger building up "What are you doing? They'll know-

He looked at me "We're going to Launch Bay 7, other side of the ship." he moved over to Beka and began to remove medical interments from her. "If you want to wash that blood off, there's a basin to you left."

I look at him for a second trying to figure out his plan if he had one. Then I moved to the basin and begin to wash my hands off, the water quickly turning red, I wash the spike off as well and put it in it's holder, I turn around and he was still working on her, and by the time he had finished it had been and hour. "She'll wake on her own in a bit." He placed her in what looked to be a wheelchair. He then moved over to a computer "It looks like you other friends have arrived, they've done hell to our fleet. Now they're contacting us."

I smile "Tyr, I'll have to thank him later"

He looks at me and walks back to Beka "They're gonna kill me anyway ya know, for not killing you when I had the chance."

I look at him "I have a plan, if you help me, I'll make sure they can't kill you." I move to the door "Lets go" We moved out and into the hall, he takes one look at the dead bodies and freeze. I looked at him "Come on"

"You've got skill, to bad you're not one of our kind." He pushed Beka around the bodies and kept moving fast. We made good time and were at the launch bay in no time I looked at him and Beka as we loaded her on to a small ship that looked to be one of their spare fighters. I punched in a code and made a secure fed to Andromeda hailing them, Harpers face came up, his eyes lighting up "Trance! You're alive, where's Beka?!"

I take a deep breath "Harper I'm sending Beka over, make sure she gets there. Ok? I'm also sending one of them with her, don't harm him, he's kinda on our side."

Harper looks at me "What about you?"

I look at him sadness in my eyes "I have something I have to do"

He looks at me "Trance... No, there's others things we can do, you don't have t-"

"Harper I have to, Just make sure she gets home... for me." with that I cut off.

I looked back at the alien a confused look on his face "She can't fly, they'd shoot her down as soon as she left the ship. Now question is can I trust you not to betray me?"

He looked at me for a second "I won't kill her or you friends if that what you mean."

That would have to do, I nod and step out "Get to Andromeda as fast as you can and away from this ship." he nods and I move to a consol and open the doors. Their ship slowly lifts up and away from the floor then moves out of the ship. I begin to type frantic all I had to do is push confirm and it would be done. I watch as they disappear into Andromeda. 

My hand pauses over the button, I would never see them again, I would never see Harper laugh at one of my questions, never see Beka smile at my inside jokes, never see Dylan's look when I told him to trust me, never see Tyr act like he hated me, and I'd never see Rommie try to study me. I look up and feel a tear fall. I have hope they will live.

I push the button


	24. Chapter 24

Part 24

Harper's POV

A rusty screech like no other rang through every hallway and every corridor of the Andromeda. I didn't realize that that awful sound came from me until I felt the burn in my throat and chest.   
  
"Trance!!!" I screamed like I had never screamed before. Over and over I repeated her name…screamed her name hoping that maybe she'd hear me and decided not to die…maybe she'd work some magic, some of her pixie magic and come back but every second that went by only confirmed the fact that she was gone. The bridge was silent…all but for my now silent sobs and wails. I had never cried this hard…I had never felt lose this strongly. All this time I was worried for Beka sure in the knowledge that no matter what happened Trance would always find away to come back to us unharmed. Just as she always did. She was resilient and everyone knew it but again the seconds crept by and there was no sign of the golden resilient warrior. My emotions ranged from sheer sorrow to overpowering and irrational rage. It was the last straw…I couldn't imagine life without any member of this crew…but especially Trance and Beka.   
  
Beka…Beka was on her way home…but how could I be happy after seeing something so morbidly tragic? I couldn't help but think…if I had the power to stop this…to put it all in rewind and to choose who to put on that escape freighter, who would I choose? It was disgusting thinking. Wrong thinking at it's best but my mind was weak and vulnerable and all I could think about was how much of a bastard I was for being able to choose between the two women I loved the most. In space Beka was my everything. She was my surrogate mother, but Trance was my love. I had never loved anyone before, sure I loved Beka but as a mother, I was loyal and respectful But Trance,…she inspired more then just respect and loyalty, she inspired deep emotion unlike any emotion I thought I could feel…untouched emotions.   
  
I never got a chance to tell her this…I never got a chance to tell her how much she meant to me...how everyday I'd chant in my head that today was the day I'd pull her aside and tell her how much I cared but I never did. Something always seemed to break…or some tragedy always seemed to occur to stop me from sharing my heart with her and this was the ultimate tragedy…   
  
"Maybe I can just tell her tomorrow." I whispered to myself and giggled a sick sad laugh. Irrationally hoping that tomorrow I'd wake up and over our usual morning coffee I'd dredge up the strength to finally tell her I loved her and she'd gasp fanning back the approaching tears. Then with a spurt of spontaneity we'd dance a little dance on top of the tables kicking away the trays and salt shakers and celebrating the release of emotions and love that we had kept inside for so many years. The years would pass behind us in a blur we wouldn't notice and the only thing that would change would be the ever growing size of our smiles. It would be a care free dance where the constant pull and grind of everyday life meant nothing and the only thing that mattered was keeping this dance going and watching time have no power over us. It was a surreal vision of love, I smiled hungrily…I wanted that vision to be reality.   
  
"Captain…" Andromeda said quietly breaking the silence on the bridge.   
  
"The freighter from the enemy vessel has docked in docking bay 9." Andromeda finished and even her virtual eyes glistened slightly with the sheen of sadness. Dylan nodded slowly and Tyr slammed his fist forcefully into his console before storming out but I could see his shoulders heave…and the bow of his head made it known that her death was weighing heavily on him as well. Dylan stood quietly on the bridge with me and rommie…the warning lights still blazing on the bridge from our battle and the crackling ambers of the enemy ship still burning in front of us like a dying fire. The hot looking yellows and reds projected on to dylans face. His features looked like they had been carved out of stone. His sorrow manifested in anger and I could feel the need for revenge just under his dignified surface. He'd of course make some point later …some heroic do gooder point about how revenge was not the way but for right now Dylan wasn't so sure whether declaring all out war on that race was the best thing to do for his aching heart. Right now Dylan was second-guessing everything and he clinched tight to keep his struggle within but I could see it. I didn't have his morals…I didn't have his do-gooder attitude…I knew exactly what I wanted to do…exactly.   
  
I turned to leave starting at a slow trot and erupting into a full out run where every muscle in my legs burned and my heart felt like it was gonna beat out of my chest by the time I made it to the docking bay but I couldn't care less. I entered the docking bay to see Maria bots setting a beaten and bruised looking beka valentine on gurney. Andromeda must have taken it uppon herself to order beka to be brought to med deck for care... Our minds were to flooded with greif to think clearly. My eyes softened and my gaze wondered to the silent and still surrogate mother. She layed motionless on the gurney…quiet and small. The shock of seeing her pale face and the vision of the burning ambers that was the late Trance Gemini cause an explosion in my brain. I ran full force toward the timid alien that stuttered his greetings to me only to be shocked by my speed and the darkness around my eyes…I didn't need a weapon…I wanted to beat him to death with my bare hands. I wanted to tear away his flesh and squeeze his heart and hear his scream…to plead for his life only for me to take it anyway.   
  
"IT'S YOUR FAULT SHE'S GONE!" I jumped on his chest bringing him down to the ground quickly and without the least bit of hesitation I hit him. Over and over I hit him until he no longer protested and his once reaching and begging hands laid limp beside him. Each hit was harder and more brutal then that last…Until each punch sounded sick and wet and red paint would color my face and shirt. But I kept hitting, I kept hitting. I just…kept hitting.   
  
"Harper don't!!" Dylan said running in and tearing me away from the green monstrosity…   
  
"NO!! IT'S HIS FAULT!" I screamed and Dylan continued to pull me away kicking and screaming from the gurgling green smear I had created.   
  
"Harper…Trance said don't hurt him remember…it was her last words…" Dylan said and I calmed a little…the tears surged forward and my face crinkled into a tight ball of sorrow.   
  
"Right now Beka needs us…We'll worry about the alien bastards once beka's better." Dylan said tight lipped. I could see in his eyes that the battle he was raging in his mind had come to some sort of conclusion and the need for revenge had won. The thought of eradicating there species…the thought of getting revenge made me feel better, made me feel like I was avenging Trances untimely death…giving something for my body a way to grieve without leaving these rivers of tears on my face that I was so ashamed of. I stood quietly and nodded at dylan who nodded back firmly. I walked over to beka and grabbed her hand walking in time with the maria bots. Dylan marched along side me.   
  
"Rommie…take our visitor down to V deck. I'll be paying him a visit soon." Dylan said as he passed Rommie in the hall and she looked worried by the intensity in dylans face.   
  
"Do it!" He said and rommie snapped to. I looked down at beka who was now fluttering her eyes.   
  
"Hey Beka…nice to have you back." I smiled but for some reason it felt so empty. 


	25. Chapter 25

Part 25

Dylan's part

I looked intently at Beka to see what her responce would be, I knew that no matter what she would say I would be able to see the real answer in her eyes. I needed her to be alright, otherwise the tenuious control I had on my anger would snap like a thin thread.   
  
"Good to be back." Beka said, her voice unsteady. I silently let out the breath of air I had been holding.   
  
I did a quick scan on the rest of her, making sure that there was no obvious signs of injury. I wouldn't be able to find out anything else until we got her to Med Deck. Med Deck makes me think of Trance and suddenly the anger comes bubbling to the surface again. For one shocking second I realize Beka probably doesn't know what happened to Trance. My heart sinks with the realization that I have to tell her what happened to her good luck charm.   
  
"Beka," I start, unsure how to voice my statement, "Trance, is..." I stumble and then force the rest of the words out of my mouth. "Trance blew up the fleet. She's gone Beka."   
  
I watch Beka's face pale and suddenly wonder if it was too soon. My heart clenches at the thought and I hold my breath, once again, waiting and hoping to see her face pink up again. Slowly it does, but with the return of colour comes a sudden rush of tears. I feel the need to bend down and brush them from my face, but I ball my hands into fists and keep them at my sides. There will be time for sharing and sympathy once all this is over.   
  
Through her tears, Beka looks at me with the fiercest expression I have ever seen on her face. "And I bet Trance told you not to hurt them." She says firmly.   
  
I can only nod and wonder what is going through her mind.   
  
"Trance," She almost whispers causing me to wonder if anyone else heard her. She tries to get up, but I push her back down. She is in no condition to do what I think she wants done. Instead to looks me square in the eyes and says, "Kill the bastards."   
  
Thats two now that want me to kill the aliens and personally I'm inclined to agree with them. The need to obliterate their kind has been waring with the need for diplomacy for the last little while, and I find myself hard pressed not to do exactly what she says.   
  
"I'll do something for sure-" I start to say, only to have Beka cut me off.   
  
"They killed her, Dylan. I wont let that go unpunished. If you don't want to do something I will." The steel in her voice assures me that she is perfectly capable of doing what she says and for a moment I'm transported back three years to when we first met. It's hard to believe that my first officer was once someone I would have had to 'retrieve' in the old Commonwealth system.   
  
I lay a hand on her shoulder and let it sit there for a moment to long. I think I need the contact, the physical proof that she is here, before I go off and do what must be done. I slowly retract my hand and step back. Turning around I look at Rommie.   
  
"I need you to bring Beka to Med Deck with Harper and try to figure out if Beka has substained any serious damage." For a second it sounds as if I'm talking about a machine. Maybe it's just my way of coping. I watch as Rommie nods before I continue. "Then I need you to track down Tyr and tell him to meet me in V-Deck. We're going to pay our alien a little visit."   
  
*****   



	26. Chapter 26

Part 26.   
Rommie's POV  
  
  
He has that dangerous glitter in his eyes. The one that says, "To Hell with rules. To Hell with protocol. The berserker is back."   
  
I stop him with a light touch on his arm. He looks at me over his shoulder but his eyes are hard, his face a mask of lightly reined rage. He's not my Dylan now.   
  
"Is revenge the way?" I sound like Rev, not a warship. But I don't want him to lose his soul in some vigilante crusade.   
  
He pulls away.   
  
Pain burns. It hurts. He doesn't trust me. He's lost in his rage.   
  
"It's the only way now, Rommie." His voice is a low, terrible whisper, laced with fierce pain and the promise of death. "You saw what they did to Beka. You saw what happened to Trance. It's the only way now. Follow. My. Orders."   
  
I squirm a little under his glare. Is this a lawful order? Genocide? If not, I do not have to comply. But I want to comply. I want to see his eyes dance again and the smile return to his face. And Trance, oh, Trance. I miss you. You were my friend.   
  
"Aye, sir."   
  
He turns.   
  
"Dylan." I try to infuse the word with gentleness. He needs no more cruelty.   
  
He stops, doesn't turn.   
  
"What if ... Trance has returned from the dead before. If we destroy the remaining alien ship and she's found a way to ... I mean ... what if?" I let the words hang there in the pain between us. What if the aliens' reasons for taking Beka were something important? What if Trance can come back and we take away her only means? What if we run amok, exterminating aliens and never know for sure? Can we live with that guilt?   
  
His shoulders stiffen, but he doesn't turn. I wait. He doesn't move. "What if," I hear him murmur. Then he shakes his head and strides off toward V-Deck.   
  
*Accessing internal link.   
  
"Andromeda?"   
  
"Yes, Rommie?"   
  
"Inform Tyr he is to rendezvous with Dylan on V-Deck."   
  
"Are we to attack?"   
  
She actually sounds pleased, excited even.   
  
"I believe so," I respond, keeping the disgust from my voice. I shouldn't be so reluctant to fight.   
  
Cut internal link.*   
  
Beka needs medical treatment. I go to retrieve her and try not to think of the ramifications of wiping out an entire race, of golden girls who can come back from the dead, and blue eyes like ice that burn into my soul. 


	27. Chapter 27

  


Part 27

Beka's POV

  


Trance is dead. I can hardly believe it. But she's really gone--. I want to kill those bastards. I was going to jump up and do just that but Dylan wouldn't let me.   
  
Dylan. He must be going through hell right now. Knowing him, I can just imagine how the guilt must be eating him up. I wish…. He's right. I'm really in no condition to do anything. Damn them!   
  
We're approaching Medical now and I have to confess to feeling uneasy about being in there. It's too much like being back there. I know it's only the Med Bay on Andromeda but I can't help but feel the way I feel. No place feels safe to me anymore. I wonder if it ever will again. After all, they got me in my home. Never mind. I should stop thinking about that. It's not as if I can do anything about it anyway. Or anything else for that matter.   
  
I'm placed on a med bed and Rommie comes over to me. "Beka, I--."   
  
I cut her off. "Save it. I don't mean to be harsh or anything, Rommie but there's nothing you can say to me right now that would make me feel any better."   
  
"I wasn't trying to. I was…. Actually, I don't know what I was trying to do."   
  
I look at her and try to focus, which isn't easy with the screwed up eyes I've got. Dylan didn't seem to notice. So either I was very good at concealing the fact that my eyes are screwed up or he was too wrapped up in his own deal to notice. Not that it matters either way. "Sorry, Rommie. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings"   
  
"It's O.K. I understand that you've been through a lot. Shall we get on with it then?"   
  
"On with what?" I was feeling uneasier by the minute.   
  
"Beka, you're here for medical attention. That means I have to examine you to find out what damage if any you sustained during your captivity"   
  
Nope. I'm fine. I'll just be going now." I tried to sound fine and tough but there was a catch to my voice that I couldn't help. Oh hell! She probably wouldn't have bought it anyway. Rommie's not stupid. There was no way I was going to get away with hiding anything. She'd find out soon enough. So. "Send Harper out of the room." I demanded.   
  
He protested. "What? Wait! No!"   
  
"Harper, she wants some privacy. That's all. It'll be O.K. Trust me and just go."   
  
"All right." He didn't sound too thrilled but he went.   
  
And as soon as he left I told Rommie the truth. "My eyes are messed up. I can't see very well."   
  
She touched my shoulder. "It'll be O.K."   
  
So I had to submit to scans and tests and all kinds of stuff. It was too much like being back with the aliens and I wanted to scream, jump up and run away but I didn't. I just lay still. At the end I waited. "Well?"   
  
Rommie came close to me. "Well you have some minor injuries which should heal with the help of nanobots." She injected me.   
  
"And?" I waited for more.   
  
"Your overall health is surprisingly good considering. Some rest and I think you'll be fine in a few days. Except…."   
  
"Just tell me, Rommie."   
  
'I have no idea why you can't see well. I can detect some damage to your optic nerves but since I have no idea what was done to you or why it may have damaged your eyes I have no idea how to fix you. So…" She trailed off again.   
  
I was starting to get annoyed about that. 'Just say what you want to say, Rommie."   
  
"Well since I have no idea what was done to you I can't even begin to treat you or to try to fix it. But there is someone on board who can."   
  
I got what she was thinking. I exploded. "There's no way. There's no way in hell I'm letting one of those of those freaks near me again. They're sadistic sons-of-bitches and--.   
No! No way. You find a way to fix me. You're a High Guard warship with with vast knowledge in your files. You do it."   
  
"Beka, be reasonable. I don't like this anymore than you do but we have no idea how bad the damage is and if it'll get worse or not. Has it been getting worse at all?"   
  
I hesitated. "A little." I finally confessed.   
  
"Well you don't want to go blind do you?"   
  
"No. Of course not."   
  
"Look, I know you're scared but I'll be right beside you the whole time. I promise I won't let him hurt you."   
  
"He already has." I said quietly.   
  
"Again, Beka. I meant again. I'm your friend. You know you can trust me, don't you?"   
  
"Sure. It's them I don't trust."   
  
"Neither do I. Why do you think I'll be near you the entire time."?   
  
I sighed. She did have a point. I didn't want to go blind if I could avoid it. But the whole idea of willingly letting one of them near me again just freaked me out. But I guess I didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter. "O.K." I said to Rommie. "But I'm not staying alone with him." I hated sounding so weak and scared like a little girl but I did feel that way. I was scared.   
  
"I promise I won't leave your side for one second." I believed that and I felt a little better about it. Not much, though.   



	28. Chapter 28

Part 28 

Tyr's POV

  
  
  


"Unacceptable!" I railed to myself, venting my rage against the console in front of me, "unacceptable and unnecessary."   
  
Trance had sacrificed herself through some misguided urge toward martyrdom. The little imbecile. Her intent may have been noble; but her sight, her understanding, was faulty, flawed, her reasoning in error; and now she had, albeit unintentionally, caused harm. We would all pay dearly for her mistake of good will unless I could correct it. Harper, Beka, Dylan, they needed her and they believed her dead. Now I had to make her live again, through the sheer force of my will if necessary.   
  
As I stormed from the bridge, the enormity of that task lay heavily upon my shoulders.   
  
I sought her quarters. To say that I was displeased with her action was a monumental understatement. To overcome the obstacle of her dispersal I would need to acquire a better understanding of her power. This drive led me to seek out her bonsai tree.   
  
It still sat on the bar where she had left it when she had reached her decision to scramble a slipfighter and go after Beka alone. As I watched, the green foliage crackled periodically with purple and gold energy. Her clippers lay on the counter next to the pot; and in the dirt, I saw a small limb freshly cut from a larger branch.   
  
I stared intently at the tree. I needed to make manifest the conditions that would permit her return from destruction. She was Dionysus cut to pieces, a promise of life, destined for eternal rebirth.   
  
Finally, I saw it, a tiny shoot. Following the light, it had twined itself around a larger, established bough. Left alone, it would choke and eventually kill the branch around which it twined.   
  
I lifted the scissors and placed the blades against the base of the shoot. As I prepared to snip it, purple and gold energy shot up the scissors and across my hand and arm. In an instant I saw the future unravel before me. Harper beating the Gorgonyte who had returned Beka; Dylan locking it away without medical attention. Dylan and I questioning it. Dylan losing his temper and killing it. Beka going blind permanently. The Andromeda chasing down the last Gorgonyte vessel and destroying it utterly. The images came faster. The Commonwealth in ruins. Revenge and destruction. Death and the end of time.   
  
I stood, shaken by the experience, gripping the top of the bar tightly with both hands; the clippers fallen again to the countertop. The tree sat quiescent. Only an occasional sparkle of purple and gold played across its surface.   
  
"Was that the future Trance had seen when she stood where I was now?" I wondered. "Could that possibly have been the future that she wanted to avoid with her sacrifice? Didn't she realize how this crew, hampered by its own sense of 'morality.' would react to her death?" Left alone, the shoot would kill the limb. "Had she sacrificed herself for nothing?"   
  
I lifted the scissors again. This time I placed the blades against the trunk of the large limb. Removing it would permit the shoot to thrive by clearing away the life that blocked its path.   
  
Again, the purple and gold energy surged up the blades and into me. The Spirit of the Abyss, the Magog, the Gorgonytes banding together. Hunt giving a speech about destroying zenocide. Me decrying the weakness and the fear of the Commonwealth. Being reduced to its basest constituents imagining the realm of evil everywhere. The destruction of all sentient life.   
  
I stood again in Trance's quarters. I understood now. What had Nietzsche said, "the pessimism of indignation invents responsibility in order to create a pleasant feeling for itself--revenge." Revenge had begun this cycle of violence. Only the overcoming of that instinct, of that culture could end it. That was the message imbedded in Trance's plea not to hurt the captive.   
  
I had to find another alternative to death and destruction. My eyes lighted on the small limb that lay in the dirt at the base of the tree's trunk. I took it between my fingers and raised the scissors one last time. I trimmed away the excess baggage until I had formed the shape of a crutch. I buried the long end in the dirt so that the fork at the top stood at a right angle to the strangled limb. I untwisted the shoot from the bough, straightening its trunk, and placed it in the apex of the fork. The stake would serve as a training tool, helping the shoot learn to grow without harming the other branches.   
  
I had just finished when Andromeda commed, looking for me.   
  
"Tyr," she snapped, "what are you doing in Trance's quarters?"   
  
"None of your business machine," I replied dryly. "Did you want something?"   
  
"Dylan wants you to meet him on V-deck. He's going to question the captive."   
  
"Inform the Captain that I'm on my way." I exited Trance's quarters and cut through a conduit to arrive at V-deck before Dylan. I was determined to find a way to prevent him from exacerbating the conflict with the Gorgonytes. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on me. Eight hours ago, I'd have been arguing for the extermination of every one of the smelly beasts. Instead, I was about to play doctor to one.   
  
I entered the cell with the Gorgonyte. As it recoiled in fear, I spoke softly to reassure it. I checked its injuries. Harper's blows had caused some bruises and contusions; but no broken bones. When I finished examining it, I stepped outside the room to wait for Dylan. I left the cell door open. I wanted the captive to witness the exchange.   
  
I could see the anger on his face when he arrived. He was so quick to trust Rak'han despite my advice to the contrary. Would he be as unwilling to listen to me now?   
  
"Do you have a plan regarding our captive, Captain Hunt?" I asked him.   
  
With a scowl he replied, "We question it, violently. Then we kill it and all the rest of its kind."   
  
As he reached for the door control I turned him away from it and gently but firmly pushed him back against the wall of the corridor. "Four hours ago I'd have been thrilled to hear it. Now, however, I must insist that you consider alternatives."   
  
"Let go of me Tyr, now," he responded. "You, of all people, should be happy about my decision."   
  
"I won't do that until you have heard me out," I said calmly, tightening my hold on him when he resisted. "Trance told you not to hurt him."   
  
"Trance is dead," came his cold reply.   
  
"Irrelevant to my point, Captain. How many times have you trusted her? How many times have you acted as she requested without knowing the reason why? How can you ignore her last request? How can you abandon your trust in her now? Did she mean that little to you? Did martyrdom suddenly render her untrustworthy? She killed thousands of them. Don't you care enough to discover why she sacrificed herself, why she felt this Gorgonyte was worth saving? If you abuse this captive who returned Beka to us instead of running when it had the means and the opportunity, you are no better than the beasts yourself. Was Trance's faith in you truly that baseless?"   
  
Dylan shrank in upon himself. "It was so unnecessary Tyr. She didn't need to die."   
  
"I concur, Captain. But this one didn't kill her. The choice was hers; she said as much. If you ever trusted her before, you must follow her wishes now. The others, Beka and Harper, will follow your orders. It's up to you, as Captain, to act rightly."   
  
"You don't understand Tyr. Beka may be permanently blinded and this is the beast that hurt her."   
  
"Then this may be the only being that can heal her. All the more reason to gain its cooperation voluntarily, Captain."   
  
"Healing her might be the only opportunity this thing has to save its miserable life and even then I'm not making any promises, Tyr."   
  
"You don't have to Captain. Trance already did. You only have to keep her word."   
  
The Gorgonyte began to speak. The translators that had allowed it to converse with Beka also permitted it to understand us. I had counted on that fact. In its own language it said, "I do not understand. Why do you not just kill him and take command of the vessel? No Gorgonyte Captain would allow you to live after this insult to its authority. No Gorgonyte officer would place a superior in such a position of weakness and fail to finish the job."   
  
Dylan watched in surprise as I answered its question in Gorgonyte. Learning their language had facilitated past Nietzschean efforts to destroy them. "We are not Gorgonytes. We have ways to settle our differences that don't result in death. We advance through cooperation rather than destruction."   
  
It snorted in surprise. "Even among the Gorgonytes Nietzscheans are famous for destruction."   
  
"With good reason," I smiled, showing it my teeth, "As Rak'han discovered. But we are also known for honor, when honor is convenient. If you can repair the damage you caused to our crewmate, you may yet convince the Captain to honor the word that was given you. You have been given a unique opportunity to foster a new era of peaceful relations between races. If you fail to heal the wounds you inflicted, you should pray to whatever Deity your people hold sacred because I won't be able to save you from a forcelance blast. In fact, I won't even try to."


	29. Chapter 29

Part 29

Trance's POV

  
  
  
  
  


I slowly open my eyes to bright light. I'm in a white room, as far as my eyes can see its nothing but white. I take a look at myself, I'm in a black corset dress flowing to the ground, and my skin, I almost faint at the sight out it, its white, pure white, no gold or even purple tent at all.

  


I look around, wondering where I am and why I'm here. "I'm dead.... I died... this is wrong..." I say to myself. I have to be dead, my body was completely destroyed, I should have just disappeared in to space, my energy given to the stars. But I'm here, in a white colorless room in a black dress. Why?

  


Suddenly everything goes blank, my head spinning uncontrollably, I'm too dizzy to keep my eyes open. I slam them shut trying to calm the spell, with no luck. I scream out in rage and it stops. I open my eyes and am shock by what I see, I'm no longer in the white room but aboard the Andromeda, battle lights blazing. I see Harper, a pained look on his face, I smile weakly "Harper?" I jump back as he begins to scream my name, heart wenching scream, again and again, tears flowing down his cheeks. I spin around to see the remains of a ship and it all snaps into place. "Oh god" I say to myself. I turn back around to see Harper now leaning over his consol shacking with sobs. I'm beyond shocked, I feel numb at what's happening. 

  


I look over to Dylan and see a look I've only seen once... in myself. A look of hate and wanted revenge. I see Tyr, his eyes wide, anger on every inch of his face and body. I jump yet again as Rommie pops up next to me saying that Beka's back. I watch in fright as Tyr slams his fist into the consol and storms out. Then in pain as Harper runs out. Leaving Dylan and Rommie. I watch as Dylan slowly walks out speeding up with each step. Now leaving a confused looking Rommie, trying to make a logical reason for my death, she to soon turns and walks out.

  


The dizzy spell over takes me again and I spin, head pounding this time. I throw my hands up to hold my head. I soon feel the pain subside and the spinning stop. Opening my eyes I see the white room again, in my black dress, with white skin. I feel a tear run its way down my cheek. 

  


"Oh don't cry for them." says a voice. " I spin around and look right at myself, my golden warrior self. "What?... what's going on?" I look at her, her eyes seem darker than I remember or is that how I had looked, so sad and warn. "I'm here to show you what happens when you do something with out thinking and to give you a choice." her tone dark."Don't listen to her" I spin back around to see myself again. My purple , young, and innocent self. Her eyes light and happy. I remembered that self, I was happy then."What are you here for?" I sounded tired and I was, and I was confused, I hated not knowing what was gong on."Oh I'm here for the same reason, but I'm here to give you back that innocent self, to give you back the innocent life you once had a life where you can be happy a-" My gold self cut her off "don't listen to her, she wants to make you a weak helpless little girl again, I can make you what you really are, a trained killer, a warrior that can kill anything that's living. Hell you could take out Tyr if ya wanted." she leaned in close to me "Power that what you'll made for...Power." she smiles. I looked at her "I would never hurt Tyr or any of the crew, they love me. And would never give me any reason to hurt them... never" She smiles "Wait before you say that."

  


I grab my head as I begin to spin again, my head hurting worse than ever. I can't take it much longer and when I think I've had enough it continues on. It felt like forever before it stopped, but it did and I was in the docking bay. I saw Harper run in a full speed, tackling the alien "Harper No!" I scream as he starts to pound into him. I run to him and scream again, I watch as he hits the alien until he's a bloody mess, blood smeared his hands and the floor. And even then he continued, I started feeling complete anger at what he was doing to him, this being that had saved me and Beka and Harper was gonna kill him after I begged him not to. As I felt hope was lost Dylan ran in and pulled him off, Harper screaming "NO! ITS HIS FAULT!" pain in his voice. Dylan pulls him aside and say "Harper.....Trance said don't hurt him remember...it was her last words" I smile then I hear him again "We'll worry about the alien bastard's once Beka's better." No this can't happen. I rush to follow them as they walk out with a limp Beka and watch as Dylan yells for Rommie to take the alien to V deck. I stand next to Harper letting my hand run over his cheek "I'm so sorry" he looks at Beka as she opens her eyes "Hey Beka... nice to have ya back" I smile as Beka looks up "Good to be back" I see Dylan look her over and then freeze "Beka... Trance is...Trance blew up the fleet. She's gone Beka." It was more of a shock than I thought, hearing my self being pronounce dead. I watch Beka, she gets even more pale than she already was her eyes full of sadness "Trance" she whispers as she tries to get up but is only pushed down by Dylan looking her in the eyes I hear "Kill the Bastard's" those three words sealed there fait, and I knew it all to well. 

I look at Harper his eyes seem glassed over, he's thinking I know he is, I've seen him do it a hundred times, I loved watching him think, he was so beautiful when he thought. I reached out and kissed his cheek softly, "I'll miss you the most" we walk into sick bay and I wait as they place Beka on a bed, she doesn't seem to be hurt much, but I notice her staining to see, that could be a problem. I laugh, look at me, even in death I'm a doctor. Rommie tries to examine Beka and as she always dose she tries to get away or was it she wanted to kill them now. As she tells Harper to get out I frown and watch him leave the room. And then Beka spoke "My eyes are messed up. I can't see very well." I am completely shocked as Rommie tells Beka of her condition, then almost start to cry when I see the true hate Beka now has for them, but I know she'll do it. I want to be with Harper again, as if I had done it I was next to Harper, he was standing out side of med looking at the door. I didn't know why I wanted to be here but I just felt I needed to be here. 

But I didn't stay long, soon I felt my being pulled away, like I was going backwards, soon I found my self in my quarters looking at Tyr, in my quarters, next to my tree. Anger shot through every part of my body, my tree, he's going to hurt her, my tree. I watched as he tried to cut it and was shot with a future and then as he tried again. Anger still in me, I watched him take the cut branch and stop the cord from killing the branch. Then as he stormed out to V deck. I had to be there before him. And again I felt my self being shot to that place. I stood looking at the alien in his cell, then as Tyr came in, stopping Dylan from killing him. Maybe that sight of the future had done him some good. I look at the alien scared huddled in his little room. Then I see Dylan take another try at the alien, only to be stopped by Tyr. Anger rising even more, I see Dylan storm out and Try approach the Alien, they speak of Beka and that he can save her, he'll have to, or he'll die.

I see Tyr storm out to talk to Beka and I wait watching the Alien. Then I see Harper come in. I freeze, No this can't happen. I scream out "Ok let me out I've made my mind up!!"

  


My head shoots to pain and dizziness again, spinning again and again. Making me even more dizzy, And sick. I feel myself start to pull out of it. I scream out as one last shot of pain shoots threw my head and I'm dropped back to the white room. "Ahhhh..... I can't take that any more!!!"

  


"You'll never get used to it so live with it." I hear my goldself say. I look at her dead in the eye. "Why the hell did you show me that!!" she smiles again "I simply show you, your great loved friends, how easy they the go against you word." she laughs. "Stop it!" my younger self shouts, she pulls me in front of her "They did this because they loved you, they wanted revenge for your death. Harper loves you more than life itself, he'd put his in front of yours any day. You can't listen to her I can make it all disappear like it never happen....let me please" I look at her, never happen? But it has, I can't change that. I'm pulled back in front of my golden self "She wants to take your power, you can have the Andromeda, your own ship, your own war ship" she look me in the eye, hers sparkling. I smile "No I won't take the ship, but I will make some changes. Do it, send me back."

  


That was all she needed she smiled evilly "I can do that, one born killer coming right up." with a snap of her fingers the room went from white to black and back to white. I look at my self, RED I'm red, my skin shines bright red, the dress becoming a black corset top and skin tight pants, much like the ones I used to have. I felt knowledge coming over me, battle plans, ways to kill, the way ones mind may work, the knowledge to fly anything. I was a killer, I feel my hip and find two new blades, I look to my ankle one of the spikes nice and clean. I smile "So do I go back" I stop my voice its dark, darker and angered. I liked it.

  


My golden self smiled wickedly "Goodbye" with that I feel my self spin, I feel the pain but I block it out as if I was shutting a door. I feel it stop and I look around everything's stopped. I'm looking at Harper standing in front of the Alien, I slowly feel things moving, First just the air then I hear sounds then I see Harper start to move. As if I didn't even have to think I reach out and push Harper back, slamming him into the wall. He looks at me complete fear in his eyes "Trance!!!?" I walk up to him and swat down "Stay" he gulps and nods. I look over to the Alien and then back to Harper. "Gun now" I put my hand out as he hands me the weapon. Just as I stand back up I see the doors open with a very pissed Tyr walking in. I take one look at him " you touched my tree" then I hit him hard in the face with my elbow, then bringing my leg under his knocking him to the ground hard enough to knock him out. Then I smile more evil than I ever had. I speak out loud "Ok Andromeda send the rest of your crew hear to stop me, or you can get on with what you have to do fix Beka then we can all talk, there's gonna be a few changes on this ship.

  
  


Ok people Harper can go. Hope you liked this I'm doing as I'm sick but I didn't want to make you all wait.

  



	30. Chapter 30

Part 30

Harper's POV

I paced the small room that housed the incased Gorgonyte…the murderer. He was mine…sitting quietly just ripe for the picking gazing up at me with big woeful eyes that kept replaying the savage beating I had already given him. He'd be the first to quench my revenge's thirst, The rest of their race would be next to satiate its hunger. Rage burned behind my wide eyes. He sat there in fear of me…a little kludge…he knew first hand what damage I could do. The thought made me clinch my fists and he cowered giving me these puppy-dog please don't hurt me again show me mercy sorta eyes. As if I was suppose to feel remorseful for what I had done to him…as if Beka didn't look the same way before he took her away and ran disturbing tests on her. As if beka didn't claw and scratch to get away giving him those same eyes before she was overrun.   
  
"This rounds for you beka" I said cracking my knuckles and stepping toward the keypad to open the cell and dance with the green devil. Suddenly the air in the room seemed thick…somehow burnt and crisp and a light of amazing magnitude engulfed the room but disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived…almost like a twinkle of a star only red and hot. I shielded my eyes to the awesome glow and when I opened them back up again the grogonyte was long gone from my thoughts. My rage had dropped away leaving only wonder and confusion. There was this strange red being…it was different yet familiar. Something cute that had turned fiery and seductively dangerous. I felt the need to run but her familiar beauty made me stay. I could see power and strength coursing underneath the skin of the intruder…the power was in her hair and her skin. It was in her black clothes and her startling variety of weapons. Is it her? She stared at me with cold burning eyes and pushed me back with a force and strength that made it known that she not only different on the outside…but on the inside as well. Slowly everything that was familiar about her fell away only leaving a beloved stranger. Beloved stranger? An emotional paradox. I could feel my chest cave in and the wind that once occupied my lungs fled on impact when my back finally hit Andromeda's solid walls. I knew who it was as she swaggered over…but my mind couldn't believe it…another reincarnation of …of…   
  
"Trance!!?" I gasped before I sank to the ground grabbing my chest and letting the my pain etch it's way onto my face. She squatted in front of me. And I no longer cared about trying to get air in my lungs. I was to busy trying to figure out this situation…why was this happening. I couldn't wrap my brain around what was going on…all I knew was this new remake of the Trance was even more dangerous then the last. I had learned to love the golden Trance after my purple babe left…but this one…no…this one was to far gone, to dangerous and forceful and looked almost emotionally void except for anger. It seemed to be what was fueling her.   
  
"Stay" she said and I nodded in fear for my life. Never before had I actually feared Trance in this manner. The doors swung open with a force that matched the demanding stride of the irate Tyr that stomped in. He saw the Trance demon and recoiled.   
  
"You touched my tree." she said and the power I had seen before and the brilliance of her crimson red skin seemed to grow even more as she set forth to attack. Her fight with Tyr didn't last long and he fell with a limp merciless thud at her leather boots.   
  
"Ok Andromeda send the rest of your crew hear to stop me, or you can get on with what you have to do fix Beka then we can all talk, there's gonna be a few changes on this ship. " Trance announced to Andromeda and then the room fell silent and her thick lashed gaze fell on me once again.   
  
"Trance what happened to you?" I said quietly with pleading eyes. I wanted to cry. I had lost her again and even though all accounts would say that she is standing right there...staring at me, frowning at me like a drago slaver would do to a lowly kludge, I knew that wasn't Trance anymore, not a Trance I want to know at least. My trance was still dead. And seeing this imposter was only making me feel the loss all over as if it had just happened, It felt like she was teasing me…just standing there so I can gaze over her and reminisce about times and a women I'd never see again.   
  
"Nothing happened…I'm just hear to fix some mistakes." She said forcefully apparently waiting for andromeda's next move. But there was no one to come to my rescue, no one to stop her. Tyr was down for the count, Dylan was no longer able to make command decisions and was currently being detained and rommie was seeing to beka. A small shuffle was heard behind us and only then did I remember that the cowering gorgonyte was still in the room. Trance's eyes slowly made there way to the gorgonyte…she stared at him seeming to be thinking something through. She decided force was the best course of action and with short strained tug she ripped the door away from the cell and guided the gorgonyte out with an odd gentleness.   
  
"Come" She ordered and when I didn't move soon enough she growled a growl that would make Tyr jealous.   
  
"OK…Ok…" I said making light of the menacing situation. She guided the gorgonyte along who strode beside her quietly while pushing me in front with her gun in my back. I could feel my heart beat in my ears…I knew where we were going…meddeck …She was taking the alien to finish what he had started? Had she grown that spiteful…that angry…had she changed that much?   
  
"Why are you doing this Trance?"   
  
"So Andromeda won't try to shoot me with her internal defenses." She said giving me a good jab.   
  
"No…all of this…why are you doing this? What's going on Trance?" I gestured wildly with exasperation.   
  
"I'm gonna set things right…I can't put the future in your hands anymore…things must change and I'm gonna make sure it happens. I've tried passive, I've tried faith…now it's time for force." She said…she was talking about her other forms. Talking about how purple trance would drop clues but stay passive and hope for the best. While Gold trance was more aggressive but still believed that we could make the right decision in the end with a little guidance and a little butt kicking. But this trance…she didn't have any faith and she was far from passive…She was an extreme…   
  
"I'm sorry Trance…" I said softly…and I really was sorry. I shook my head.   
  
"Sorry for what?" She snapped.   
  
"Sorry you feel you have to be this way to make a difference…" I said and I could feel the words hitting her…I could feel the poke of the gun in my back lessening and our pace slowed. I turned slowly…   
  
"Trance…please tell me what's going on…we were best friends remember. We told each other everything…well mostly everything. I still haven't told you about how I got public lewdness on my wrap sheet." I smiled and she smiled a weak smile remembering all the times she tried to pry details out of me but I wouldn't tell her a thing, which drove her nuts but I knew she liked it. Out of the corner of my eye I could see something moving…slowly using stealth skills I'd never seen before. Trance stood quietly smiling at me but noticed my eyes shift and she quickly spun to her left letting fly three small throwing knives that made a high pitched shriek as they flew through the air.   
  
"Nice try Seamus!" Trance bellowed as her knives soared.   
  
"ROMMIE!" I yelled and with her superior reflexes rommie lept out of the way unholstering her forcelance and squeezing off a few shots before tumbling to a squat. Trance dodged all the shots skillfully using shackled on her wrists and ankles to deflect most of the shots and leaping in the air to deflect the rest…she came down with a resounding thud with a knife in one hand and a gun in the other…Trance grinned seeming to enjoy this confrontation. Rommie charged Trance and they fought in what looked like a choreographed dance flowing moves linked in chains of impressive grabs and counters. Neither one could get the upper hand on the other. Rommie finally made the first contact with a backhand that sent Trance staggering backward. She wiped the blood from her lip and crouched into a cat like fighting stance with knives in both hands. And Rommie gestured for her to bring it on letting her leather coat sway behind her and bringing her fist up in an old fashion stance everyone knew as good 'ole earth street fighting. Rommie did some fancy foot work and Trance just smiled tapping her heals causing blades of come out of the toe of each shoe.   
  
"Damn." Rommie said looking somewhat impressed as Trance lunged. Rommie tried to evade Trances advances but trance was to quick for her, slashing and kicking with tricky combos that Rommie just couldn't' keep up with.. Trance finally sliced Rommie in the stomach forcing the Avatar to double over. Trance quickly took advantage and swiftly kneed her in her face sending Rommie stumbling back flailing her arms to keep her balance. Trance giggled hauntingly and slowly walked after Rommie who was now sadly hobbling away holding onto the walls. As soon as Trance put her hands on her she sent an electrical surge through her body causing Trance to fly several feet in the air and land hard down the corridor. Trance groggily got to her feet and they both stood injured and now wary of each others skill. Trances eyes shifted to the medlab that wasn't that far away and Rommie caught it. Trance took off for medlab and Rommie instinctivly drew her force lance but must have known that Trance would be able to deflect and dodge every shot she fired so she resorted to the next logical choice to keep her from beka.   
  
"Stop Trance…stop or I won't hesitate to shoot him." She said and trance stilled, turned slowly and squinted at Rommie who's forcelance was know pressed against the temple of the gorgonytes head. I had to wonder…   
  
What was so special about this gorgonyte? I flashed back to how she told us not to hurt him…She knew those would be her last words…her last chance to communicate with her friends…with me and she used it to tell me not to hurt him. Then I flashed back to how gently she removed him from his cell as though he had some extreme importance. Did rommie pick up on it to?…that this Gorgonyte was something more then we could see. Out of all the Gorgonytes on that ship Trance chooses to she spared him. The very one who had done these heinous crimes to Beka is the one she decided to spare…There was something we were all missing, something we aren't realizing. But my thoughts were cut off when Trance decided to make her move. Something that caught Rommie by surprise…all of a sudden I felt Trance arm wrapped around my throat and cold steel pressed against my neck and once again the standoff began…   
  
The playing field was now even and it was anyone's game…   
  



	31. Chapter 31

Note From Dragon- wow 31 chapters!! I along with everyone would like to Thank all of you who have reviewed and kept reading. Our thanks go out to you and keep up the reading!! :) 

Part 31

Rommie's POV  
  
Damn, she pulled the wild card out of the deck.   
  
"Trance," I said quietly, trying to be the voice of reason. "Look at who you're threatening. "You sacrificed the fate of the universe once to save Harper. Now you're going to kill him? Just like that? Without remorse."   
  
Her dark eyes flashed, and twitched over to the back of his tousled hair, then back to me. The knife didn't tremble.   
  
*She knows what she's doing. She's self-assured and maniacal.*   
  
"If I must."   
  
"You'd trade the life of your friend, a man you love, for this creature?" I grasped the Gorgonyte's shoulder in one hand, and gave him a shake. He whimpered. Harper squeezed his eyes shut. Trance's dark eyes widened ever so slightly.   
  
"Yes," she whispered, voice more a breath of air than speech.   
  
My remorse must've shown on my face, because a malicious smile split her red face. She chuckled, a vile, hollow sound.   
  
"You're not Trance," I snarled, and shoved the Gorgonite forward. He slammed into Harper's stomach, knocking him back. Trance's hand flew away from Harper's throat. Simultaneously, I did a flip through the air, my fingers slipped between his sensitive flesh and the blade. She snarled and sliced through my fingers.   
  
But androids are tough.   
  
I grabbed Harper's hair and shoved him to the floor behind me.   
  
My internal defense lasers sliced through the air. Sparks erupted from her shoulder. It burned her cheek. Smoke puffed. Blood dribbled. She kicked out. Harper squealed as a boot blade pierced his thigh. I heard him scrambled out of reach, sobbing.   
  
I grabbed her left arm and snapped it. The bone broke with a satisfying crunch. She screamed, swiped at my torso with the blade in her right hand. My internal lasers bit at her knees. She crumpled, still snarling and struggling. I buried my fingers in her long red hair and twisted until she was on her knees, her back to me.   
  
Suddenly, she reached back, grabbed my coat with one hand and flipped, her legs wrapping around my neck.   
  
I almost laughed. Does she think she'll suffocate an android?   
  
I bit her. Blood filled my mouth and she wailed.   
  
Tossing her again the wall, I noticed the prisoner, inching away, trying to escape. I narrowed my eyes and a defensive laser beam shot out, pierced his ankle. He toppled. Injured, not dead.   
  
Something barreled into me, knocking me off balance. Trance.   
  
I flung her off. "I've had enough of you, Bitch," I snarled. "Who are you and why are you here?"   
  
"To put it all right." She threw a blade at me.   
  
It made a sproing sound as it impaled my arm. I pulled it out. The point was crumpled. A useless weapon. Where was my forcelance? Maybe I should just shoot her.   
  
"To put what right?" I lunged.   
  
"The universe." She dodged.   
  
"How?" I snagged her hair, spun her to face me.   
  
A crafty look crossed her face. Her eyes sparked maniacally. "By taking over." She stretched out a hand, palm flat toward me. Before her hand the air sparkled, fogged, spun, coalesced. Stars glimmered in primordial soup. I stared. She laughed, deep and throaty. I blinked. Then the energy surge hit me, a ball of lightening birthed in that primordial slime.   
  
I flew back, slammed into the wall. My eyes were open, but my circuits were compromised.   
  
"That's enough!" a familiar voice barked.   
  
Trance whirled.   
  
Propped against the doorframe of medical, Beka sagged, squinting, a force lance aimed steadily at Trance's middle. "Leave my friends alone, you bitch. Whoever you are."   
  
Collapsing back against the cold steel wall, my head spinning, my matrix flashing with odd coding, I allowed myself to smile. Perhaps now, we'll find out what really happened to Trance. But me? I feel... odd. Disconnected. Am I floating? This is not logical, not logical, not ... logical 


	32. Chapter 32

Note- Sorry for the wait people but most the writes of this story along with myself have just started school so it may be slow but please bare with us. And Reviews will improve our Words Per Min. 

Part 32

Beka's POV

After Rommie left I had nothing to do but think; think about what they had done to me, to Trance. She was dead and I was going blind all because of those aliens. I wasn't fooling myself. I didn't trust that alien as far as I could throw him. I doubted that he'd help me. He'd probably kill me if he got half a chance. Which was why I didn't want to let him anywhere near me ever again.   
  
Except I knew Rommie was right. If there was any hope of reversing what they'd done to me so I could see again, it lay with him. I hated that. I knew it meant that I'd have to let him near me again, let him touch me again. I shuddered at the thought. I had no choice, though. I didn't want to go blind but I thought that it was going to happen regardless. I could barely see anything anymore; although I knew the Andromeda so well I could still find my way around her.   
  
And I'd always know my crew. That I was sure of. Some things you never lose. But what I was losing---.   
  
It made me angry. They'd had no right to do what they did, no right at all. I didn't care what their reasons were, whatever they were. They had to pay. They had to. They would; I'd make sure of it, if it was the last thing I ever did.   
********************************************************I was getting restless and I wanted to do something. Resting wasn't cutting it for me. Then, almost like the Divine had heard and answered my prayer or something, I heard the sounds of a commotion outside. A fight was going on. My friends, my crew, my family needed my help. I was going to help them. I didn't care that Rommie had said it would take a few days for me to recover. I didn't have a few days. I was needed NOW!   
  
I climbed off the bed and began stumbling around, looking for a weapon. Not an easy thing to do in Medical even if I was at the top of my game. Which I wasn't. But I guess the Divine must have still been on my side because I stumbled across a weapon. A force lance. Don't ask me how it got there. I have no clue. Maybe somebody figured I'd feel better and cooperate more if I had a weapon available. In any case, I wasn't knocking my good fortune in finding it.   
  
I activated it and stumbled to the door. I was right. From what I could see, Rommie was in deep trouble. I had to do something. "That's enough. Leave my friends alone, you bitch. Whoever you are."   
  
"Beka, I'm Trance."   
  
"Liar." I hissed. "Trance is dead. You're one of them , aren't you? Now step away from Rommie or you'll get it. I swear I'll kill you."   
  
"Beka—."   
  
"Don't give me the 'I'm Trance' spiel again because I'm not buying it. I mean it. Now shut up and do what I say."   
  
The strange being, which claimed to be Trance but I knew better, apparently decided that it would be prudent not to piss me off anymore than I already was. I made out a movement from her that I took to be her following my orders and moving away from Rommie.   
  
I moved over to Rommie. "Are you all right?" She didn't answer me, just kept repeating 'not logical' over and over again. "You bitch! You hurt her. That's it. You die now." I aimed the force lance and shot it.   
  
It's not a smart thing to do when you can't see well enough to aim properly; I realize that. I just wasn't thinking at the time. Well, I was but only about how pissed off I was about everything that had happened. Naturally, my aim was off and I missed by a mile.   
  
Then all of a sudden she slammed into me, knocking me off my feet and the force lance out of my hands. We were rolling all over the place, screaming and pummeling each other. She kept screaming that I should stop, that she was Trance.   
  
I'll give her points for consistency but I wasn't stupid. Blind, yes. Stupid, no. Plus this thing had hurt Rommie and I wasn't going to let her get away with that.   
  
So we're fighting and crashing into everything we could. And I was getting tired. Damn! Rommie was right. I wasn't back to full condition yet. If I ever would be—It was all their fault.   
  
And she was one of them. With my last ounce of strength I managed to twist around so that I was in a good position to—I bit down really hard on her arm. She shrieked and let go. I forced myself up, even though I was spent. I couldn't give up. There was too much at stake. I had to find my force lance and kill her. I was hunting all over for it. But it was barely a minute before I dropped again from exhaustion. Then something hit me from behind and that was the last thing I knew.


	33. Chapter 33

Part 33

Dylan's POV   
  
I awoke in my quarters with a splitting headache. I tried to remember what happened, but for some reason my mind was only allowing me to see the last little while in bits. It felt almost like trying to watch a movie one frame at a time.   
  
"Rommie?" I said outloud, trying to get some answers.   
  
Andromeda popped into being beside me and arched an eyebrow. "Feeling better."   
  
I just half-grinned, half-frowned at her. "What the hell is going on?"   
  
"Currently?"   
  
I nodded and Rommie went on to inform me of all that had happened since Tyr knocked me unconcious and took command of the Andromeda. As the tale grew in length and excitement, my jaw dropped lower and lower.   
  
"So let me get this straight. In the past few hours Beka has gone blind, Trance has risen not once, but twice from the dead, and the creature has escaped?"   
  
"Pretty much." Rommie replied with a shrug of her shoulders.   
  
"Good god, what have we got ourselves into."   
  
"I'll let you know that, when I figure it out."   
  
I started to pace for a second, while I tried to figure everything out. I tried to clear my head of the throbbing that was coming from behind my eyes, but it didn't seem to work. The only way this headache was going to end was when the whole mess was sorted out.   
  
"Get Tyr, I want command of my ship back." I said finally. One way or another, this was going to end and it was going to end now.   
  
******   



	34. Chapter 34

Part 34

Harper's POV

It was the fight of the century. A battle that seemed like no one could win. 3 different fighting styles all coming together to create this chaos of blood and wires and pain. I breathed heavily with my back against the wall down the hall so far that I could no longer make out the fight. I gazed at my injured leg...I put pressure on the wound but the blood still flowed thick and sticky coating my hands. It had gone straight through my thigh, in one end and out the other. There was so much blood…to much blood and no way for me to stop it. I looked down the corridor at the hazy blobs of movement…my eyes wouldn't focus anymore but I could hear that the fight wasn't over yet…they were still fighting for there lives. I had panicked…I had ran away when they needed me. I let my instincts take control, the voice in my head shouting for me to get away, to run, to escape. But now my instincts told me that I had to do something, I had to stop this or I'd never be able to live with the knowledge that I left my friends, the people I loved when they needed me the most. The sight of beka hobbling out of the med deck to help reminded me of this…reminded me of what friendship meant, what love meant. She was in no condition to fight but she went out there anyway and that's what I'm gonna have to do! I could hear the cries of pain and grunts of strain coming from them…I cried out but I couldn't' be heard over the scuffle. I love these women…but how can I save them? I wanted to cry but I sucked up. I clutched the wall and pulled myself up cringing at the pain that coursed up my spine and out my fingertips. I whimpered leaning heavily on the wall taking a short breather and holding back the urge to vomit. I paced down the corridor. One foot after the other…slowly making my way to the scuffle…slowly making my way to my death but I'd make a point before I died! I had to stop this and maybe…maybe they'll listen. I had to try. My bloody hand slid along the wall leaving a dripping trail. I felt tired and worn, cold and confused. The corridor seemed long but the shapes before me slowly came into focus…I kept going feeling like I weighted a ton, I could see pretty well know through my pain glazed eyes. Trance stood over a motionless beka, her body limp and sweat soaked on the solid blue floor…My eyes scanned further to see Rommie, my Rommie laying damaged against the wall sparking and repeating the same words over and over that sounded like a plea for help. I was too late! I staggered in disbelief, letting my eyes well up with tears. The scene was tragic, something out of a horror vid. I heard a moan and diverted my attention to the gorgonite who was clutching his ankle, green sludge oozed from between his fingers. He rocked back and forth in agony sputtering and spitting at the pain. Trance looked back at me and I looked at her in utter horror, utter disbelief and shame.   
  
"Trance…god trance…why?" I said looking at my fallen friends, this sad battle ground. A tear ran down my face. I didn't even know if Beka was still alive…whether I could ever get rommie working again. They might have fallen to Trance…betrayed by a close friend. Never could I have imagined she could be so cruel. She stepped toward me but I stepped back in disgust. I wasn't afraid of her anymore…I had to make a stand but I was disgusted by her actions…How could she? Her face was soft but soon tightened up when I backed away.   
  
"They asked for it!" She screamed but something inside of her was unstable. I could see it…her eyes shifted as if she didn't even believe her own words but her body language still spoke to her dangerousness.   
  
"Trance please…what do you want? What are you trying to accomplish! How does killing your friends help the universe?!" I spat at her. My legs wobbled at the loss of blood but I tried to stand firm. I wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer…I could feel my life draining away with the blood dripping down my leg. I had to say what I needed to say before I passed out and lost my nerve.   
  
"You can't be trance…"   
  
"I am Trance! A better Trance a more efficient Trance!" She said, as if she was trying to get me to just understand, but I couldn't understand this…how was this more efficient? She was a killer, no better then any of the other villains we had stopped who were seeking the same thing she was a better universe…ha…a universe that bowed before them…that's what they wanted and they tried to get it by any means necessary, even if it meant killing there friends.   
  
"No! You can't be Trance because you have killed everything she has ever stood for!" I shuffled over to the red hot demon. Stopping every few steps to find my bearings. Trance stood, her chest heaving with emotion. Watching me hobble and looking like at any second she might run away from me. She looked like she couldn't stand to see me.   
  
"I'm Trance, like it or not." She said firmly tapping her boots and letting her blades sink back into the toe of her shoes when she looked at my bloody hand covering the deep gash in my thigh.   
  
"No I don't like it…and I don't think you do either." I said. I was close…close enough to see that she was severly wounded. She leaked blood the same color as her skin but she seemed unaffected. Her shoulders sagged and she looked at me with wide eyes…anger still flowing in them but the fire wasn't as bright anymore.   
  
"You can make a difference without all of this! You know that! Trance always knew that! You say your trance but if you are then I don't want to know you…if this is what you've become then just kill me now!" I was in her face now…I lifted her arm and placed the bloody blade she had in her hand against my neck. She clutched it tight and snarled pressing it deeper into my flesh and I swallowed hard…I gazed in her eyes intently both of us frowning and staring at each other in the silence of the hallway.   
  
"GO AHEAD! DO IT! YOU WERE SO EAGAR BEFORE! WHAT'S DIFFERENT NOW! WHAT'S CHANGED! DO IT!" I said jerking her arm forcefully but she pulled against me. That was a good sign…a very good sign.   
  
"I don't want to kill you Harper…I was bluffing before…I wouldn't hurt you. But stay out of my way!" she said screaming at the end giving me a shove that at any other time wouldn't have even made me stumble but in my condition I could feel myself falling backward. She grabbed my shirt with a worried look on her face and her eyes panned down to my wounded leg. She reached out to examine the wound feeling responsible…I could see a glimmer of guilt but I quickly grabbed her hand.   
  
"I can't do that…you know I can't because I love you. If you want me out of your way…if you want me to just turn my back and let you smear trances name...let you smear your own name at some misguided attempt to right the universe…well then you should just kill me now because I'll never stop trying to get through to you."   
  
"I have to do this harper…I won't kill you…but I won't stop either." She said letting go of my shirt and letting me fall limply on the ground. My breathing was ragged, I needed to stop the bleeding, my vision blurred…she picked up the wounded gorgonyte and walked over to med deck she disappeared for a short time and I crawled over to beka. I made it to her and checked her pulse she was still alive and I had never been so happy in my life…Maybe trance didn't want to kill her, she had her chance but didn't' take it. I could hear Trances boots coming back…she stepped over me and squatted down in front of beka.   
  
"Stop!" I said but she didn't listen, she continued to move. I looked around finding Beka's force lance I shot off a warning shot and then stumbled once again to my feet with the last ounce of strength I had left. She stilled and spoke without turning around with beka laying limp in her arms.   
  
"You know that you can't kill me…just as much as I can't kill you." She said and I gritted my teeth…could I do it? Could I?...She finally turned and looked at my pale, clammy face and the puddle of blood on the floor…my vision turned into tunnel vision...and I swayed.   
  
"You already killed me Trance." I said breathily and my legs gave out and my eyes closed…the last image they captured was trance reaching out for me…   
  
  



	35. Chapter 35

Part 35

Alien's POV

I watched in awe as the two women, Trance and Rommie, this ships avatar, battled before me, this fight was a constant stalemate, neither of them able to gain the upper hand for more than a few seconds. Then it happened, the blade slicing into the androids stomach and the electrical discharge which threw Trance across the corridor, leaving me like this, a forcelance to my head, unable to move without the risk of it being fired. I could tell by the look on Harper's face that he wanted Rommie to fire; part of me hoped that she would.   
  
I looked over towards my counterpart, the prisoner of my liberator, her blade pressed firmly to his throat, I had to wonder why, why did she send me with her friend, me, the very person who had tortured her, the very person responsible for all of this, how could she think her friends would let me live once they found out what I had done, I had to find out.   
  
Then the android spoke up, albeit ever so quietly.   
"Trance, look at who you're threatening. You sacrificed the fate of the universe once to save Harper. Now you're going to kill him? Just like that? Without remorse."   
The blade moved in closer, a small trickle of blood running down the boys neck.   
"If I must."   
  
I tuned out at this point after that small revelation. 'She had sacrificed the fate of the universe to save one person, could she really be…no, surely not, they're nothing but a myth, a children's tale, aren't they?' I had heard stories of eternal beings, non linear, capable of changing the universe at their will but until now I had but ignored the stories as myth and precisely that; stories, but now, could it be that I have actually met one? I never got the chance to even contemplate it as suddenly without warning I am slammed forwards into the boy, we fall to the floor together in a heap, my kelnia, my elbow spikes, our natural weapons, ready for action, and ultimately, embedded in the engineers leg, his red blood flowing slowly as he was pulled out of the way by the android only to be hit again by the bladed boot of the red, menacing, scary as hell Trance.   
  
I stood and hobbled away around a corner, 'Out of sight out of mind' I could hear the ensuing battle, scream after scream came from Trance but she kept on fighting, determined to win. It was then that I was struck down by the ships internal defence, I fell to the floor in pain, excruciating pain, but I kept on going, I wanted no part of this, I am sick of fighting and killing, sick of bloodshed, especially when it is my fault.   
  
I finally made it out of sight when I heard a thud behind me, the android hitting the bulkhead, her chest singed and sparking mumbling to herself, 'What the hell happened to her?' I thought, but I was in no hurry to find out. I stood and attempted feebly to run, not caring where, just as long as it was away from them. 'Maybe back to my cell would be a good idea. Yes, my cell.' I took off as fast as I could, which wasn't all that quickly. I didn't get far though, maybe a few meters, the pain too much; I collapsed back to the deck and cradled my aching ankle, my blood oozing out everywhere.   
  
I don't know what happened next but by the look of Harper I don't want to. He stared daggers through my soul before turning back to his former friend. I faded in and out of consciousness now as I lost more and more blood, the blood loss facilitated by my attempted escape.   
  
*****   
  
Soon it was all over, Harper's attempt to win her back and make her see reason had failed and I found myself in medical on top of a surgical bed, Beka lay off to my left in a separate room and Harper to my right; much closer than I would have liked given that last look he gave me, Trance busy trying to stabilise him. I tried to sit up but the second I did I lay down again, not only was the pain in my ankle still very much alive and the room spinning, but the puddle of crimson blood on the floor was more than I could bare to see right now.   
  
I closed my eyes and prayed that she would kill me quickly and do it soon, I had caused so much suffering to this crew, this family, I could take no more.   
  
I decided to try again; I opened my eyes to see her standing over me, concern written all over her face, 'why? Why was she concerned for me'? she should hate me for what I did.'   
"Why?" I spoke, my voice was ragged and sharp, the combined results of my blood loss and the sight of the puddle below me.   
"Because, I saw your future. You are destined for greater things, and I saw the real you, not the Gorgonyte forced to commit these atrocities, but the Gorgonyte who favours peace and co-operation to conflict and dictatorship, I saw a new future for your people, with you at their head. That, and, I needed a pilot, Beka was unconscious."   
'A new future, me.' I didn't believe this, all my life I had hoped for a change, a new direction, and now she was telling me that I was the one that would make that all important first step, yeah right.   
"Are you telling me that you almost killed your entire crew so I can live?"   
"Its not the first time." She replied, I was intrigued, could it be that she had killed her crew so that she could alter the past and save Harper's life, condemning the universe of that timeline? There was one last thing I had to know.   
"Are you what my people call a Guardian?"   
  
She looked at Beka.   
"Can you undo what you did to her?"   
"Answer my question first."   
"No, undo what you did, then I'll answer you, it's the only guarantee I have."   
  
She had a point, if I could have, the second she let me up I had been planning to run, but now, I had to know.   
"Very well. I'll need a few things." I listed the equipment I needed and scrubbed up. She assisted me in the short operation to remove the bots, the damage they had done was extensive but she injected Medical Nano-bots to speed up the recovery, only time would tell if she would fully recover but things looked promising.   
  
As she was escorting me back to V-Deck I asked her again.   
"Are you a Guardian?"   
She was silent for a long while, I was going to push but I could see her concentration, her inner conflict as she tried to decide what to say, I didn't see why, to me it was a simple 'Yes' or 'No' response.   
  
We entered the brig once again and I walked into my cell for the second time that day. Something was wrong, the Kodiak, the Uber, he was missing. He must have woken up. This worried me but Trance seemed un-phased by it. As she turned to leave I yelled for her to stop.   
"Well, are you?"   
"Not anymore." She spoke so quietly, not much more than a whisper but in her voice she conveyed pain, suffering and hate.   
"Not anymore?" I questioned, but she was gone.   
"Not anymore." I sat and thought about the implications of that, they were not good.   
  
*****   
  
Trance made her way back to medical, highly distressed, he knew, that stupid 'THING' knew what she was.   
"How am I going to deal with this?" She asked herself, "What am I going to do?" then she remembered Harper and Beka in medical and she had a new purpose, for now, the Gorgonyte could wait.   
  
As the doors opened Trance looked towards Harper's bed, it was empty. She began to panic as she frantically looked for him it was then that she noticed the doors to Beka's private room were closed and she could sense movement inside.   
  
Creeping slowly up to them she thrust them open her blades in hand. Harper was standing over Beka's unconscious form.   
"WHAT DID YOU DO!!!!!!!!" He screamed, not really expecting an answer but he got one anyway.   
In a calm voice Trance replied.   
"We fixed her. Her eyes are returning to normal, in a few days she'll be good as new."   
"WE?"   
"Yes, me and the Gorgonyte."   
"I swear to god, if she doesn't get better I'm goinna kill you, no matter what it takes or how many times, I'm goinna kill you."   
From the tone in his voice Trance knew there was no way she could ever win his trust again, not like she had before, this was a battle she would not win, and she knew it.   
  
Repressing the sobs and holding back the tears she went back out into the main ward and began to clean up, only once Harper closed the doors behind her did she let her feelings show, the tears streaming down her red cheeks mixing with the blood on the floor. 'How could things have gone so wrong? I came back to fix them and they got worse, what the hell am I supposed to do now?'


	36. Chapter 36

Part 36

Tyr's POV

  


I regained consciousness on the floor of the now empty and doorless containment cell. I had expected to protect the prisoner from a potential pummeling by Andromeda's pugnacious engineer. The powerful punch of the ruby warrior caught me off guard. 

  


"Andromeda," I snapped as I sat up, "you told me Harper was attacking the prisoner. Is there some reason you failed to warn me about our red intruder?" 

  


"I was surprised by her sudden appearance," the ship admitted sheepishly. 

  


I leapt to my feet as the realization struck me. Trance. 

"Computer, status report," I barked. 

  


"My avatar has engaged the intruder in the corridor outside of medical. Harper and the Gorgonyte prisoner have been injured during the course of the battle. The prisoner is attempting escape. Activating internal defenses." 

  


"Belay that. Shut down internal defenses. That's an order." The ship's holographic image glared at me as it complied. "Continue report," I insisted as I headed for the site of the battle. 

  


"Tyr," the AI sounded strange. "We have bigger problems than this red Trance." 

  


Bigger than the crew trying to kill each other? I stopped abruptly. 

  


"I'm losing exotic matter containment." 

  


"How long?" 

  


"Full breach in approximately 30 minutes. Leakage may commence in as few as 15 minutes." 

  


"Cause?" I asked. 

  


"Self-diagnostics suggest a computer virus." 

  


"Rak'han," I swore as I switched directions and headed at top speed for the ship's core. 

  


"My avatar has collapsed," Andromeda reported, "It may also be affected by the virus. Its logic circuits appear to be disrupted. And Tyr, I fear something is wrong with Dylan as well. He has regained consciousness; but he is hallucinating. He has confused me with Rommie." 

  


"I didn't think I hit him that hard," I chuckled. 

  


"You didn't," the ship responded hostilely; "I'm reading elevated body temperature. Temperature elevation began shortly after my avatar confined him to his quarters." 

  


"It just gets better and better," I responded with a slow shake of my head. "Do you have enough control of your systems to lower the ambient temperature in his quarters?" 

  


"I believe so," Andromeda replied. 

  


"Then do it." At the core I made a few manual adjustments to the containment field. I was able to strengthen the field temporarily; but I could not completely halt the progression of the virus. 

  


"Andromeda," I called. She appeared with obvious difficulty. "What are the status and location of Harper, Beka the Gorgonyte and Trance?" 

  


"Harper and Beka remain in medical recovering from their injuries. This red Trance actually treated Harper's injuries and the Gorgonyte's. Then the prisoner helped her correct the problem with Beka's vision. Trance took the prisoner back to the containment cell and returned to Harper and Beka in medical." 

  


"Perfect," I smiled as I raced toward the containment cell. 

  


The prisoner started in surprise when I appeared in the doorless entry to its cell and ordered it to follow me. It moved slowly from its still healing wounds and let out a small squeal when I scooped it up impatiently and proceeded to carry it. 

  


As I loped back to the core, I spoke to it in Gorgonyte. "I am given to understand that you have helped to heal the injuries you caused to Beka despite the harm that has been inflicted on you since you came aboard this vessel." 

  


It nodded, its eyes rolling in fear. 

  


"You have my thanks," I told it, "And an opportunity to earn my trust." 

  


It eyed me suspiciously, like it feared I would eat it. 

  


"You see, I'd like to keep you alive; I'd like to keep us all alive." I explained as I set him down in front of the core's computer console. "But your dead ex-general Rak'han had other ideas. This ship is going to lose exotic matter containment in about 15 minutes unless you can help fix it. Can you?" 

  


As I watched the Gorgonyte reached hesitantly toward the console. 60 seconds later it slowly nodded in the affirmative. 

  


"I'll leave you to get started then and I'll get you some help as soon as I can." I think I was more disbelieving than he was as I exited the core and left him alone there to work. 

  


"Andromeda, are Harper, Beka and Trance still in medical?" 

  


"Yes," came the slow response. 

  


"I'd like you to inform Trance that the Gorgonyte is no longer in his cell. If she asks, you can tell her I took him; just don't tell her where. I need her distracted and out of the way so I can talk to Harper and Beka." 

  


I watched from a conduit as an enraged Trance exited medical toward the containment cells. She was a magnificent vision of passion and power; one I eagerly anticipated testing. But for now she would have to wait. 

  


Slipping through the portal and into the room, I crossed to the closed door. "Harper, Beka, it's Tyr; I'm coming in," I warned. 

  


But Harper thrust open the door and hugged me tightly. "Tyr, Trance is back; but she's wrong," he said as I peeled him off of me. 

  


"I know. Are you and Beka well enough to help me do something about it?" I looked hard at them both to gauge their reactions. 

  


"Of course," Harper responded more confidently than he obviously felt. 

  


"My sight's coming back slowly; but it is improving," Beka chimed in gamely. 

  


"I'm glad to hear it," I said squeezing her hand. 

  


"So what's the plan?" she asked. 

  


"First, I need you both to forgive the Gorgonyte." 

  


"You've got to be kidding!" she exclaimed, snatching her hand back. 

  


"No way!" was Harper's equally adamant reply. "The only good Gorgonyte is a dead Gorgonyte. They are torturing, murdering scum." 

  


I grabbed his chin, forcing him to look me in the eye as I reminded him. "You once felt the same way about Nietzscheans. Do you still want to see me dead little man?" 

  


"No," he admitted as I permitted him to pull away, "but that's different." 

  


"How?" I challenged. "He helped heal the harm he was ordered to inflict on Beka, as well as the harm he committed inadvertently. Right now he is striving to prevent Andromeda's destruction by a virus implanted by one of his own people, Rak'han." 

  


"There you go," Harper interrupted. "You told us not to trust the Gorgonytes when we decided to listen to Rak'han. Seamus Harper doesn't need to touch the hot stove a second time to remember that it burns." 

  


"Harper," I reminded him more gently than I felt, "I was right about Rak'han. I'm right now too. I'm not asking you to trust the Gorgonyte. I'm asking you to trust me." 

  


Finally he inclined his head. "I don't like it," he grumbled, "But I'll do it, if you really believe it will help Trance." 

  


Beka's damaged eyes crackled with rage and betrayal. "I trust you to look after Tyr. I'm even less enthused about your plan than Harper. I don't understand how forgiving the Gorgonyte will bring Trance back to us. That beast tortured me. Don't you care?" 

  


"Beka, I've seen what the Gorgonytes do to their prisoners. Less than 24 hours ago I wanted to see every last one of them exterminated and was doing my best to make that a reality. Of course I care." I reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as I continued. "But revenge will only drive Trance further away from us. For her sake, I have to ask you to choose forgiveness over vengeance." She pulled away from me. "Damn it Beka," I snapped as I ran out of both time and patience, "what's more important, your revenge or all of our survival?" 

  


"Go on with your plan," she sneered. "You've told us what needs to happen first. Why don't you move on to part two? Perhaps some time will make you more convincing." 

  


"Fine," I snarled and turned to Harper, "Rommie and Andromeda have been damaged by a sleeper virus implanted into their systems by Rak'han before he died. I suspect that the virus may have a biological component as well because Dylan is suffering from fever and hallucinations, symptoms that began shortly after Rommie confined him to his quarters. Harper, I need you to take your tools and Rommie to the ship's core to help the Gorgonyte maintain exotic matter containment and find a cure for the virus. Beka, I need you to take some supplies from here to Dylan's quarters to help bring his fever down and keep him calm. Can you both do that?" Keeping Beka away from the Gorgonyte for a while should give her a little more time to consider forgiveness. "I'll keep Trance occupied." 

  


When they nodded their agreement to the plan, I left medical and headed for Trance's quarters. 

  


Upon my arrival, I checked the room. The bonsai tree remained on the bar with the clippers still sitting beside it where I had dropped them. Cradled in the arms of its guide, the new shoot was growing straight and no longer threatened the other branches. All was already in readiness; I need do nothing further to complete the scene. 

  


"Andromeda, inform Trance that she can find me in her quarters," I ordered. Then I stood, arms crossed awaiting her arrival. 

  


She burst into the room, a crimson fury. "How dare you enter my quarters uninvited? This time I will kill you." 

  


"You are welcome to try," I smiled. My calm response enraged her further. 

  


"I see you learned nothing from our last encounter. Before you die, tell me what you have done with the Gorgonyte," she advanced as she spoke and drew one of her new spike weapons. She moved lithely, more aware of her body than she had ever been during our prior training sessions. 

  


"He's busy. Your presence would only distract him," I spun out of the way of her thrust and trapped her hand just long enough to wrench the weapon from her. Stepping back, I threw the weapon out of reach. "That's no way to treat a guest," I chided. 

  


"I have another," she jibed, drawing it and launching herself at me in one quick motion. 

  


I met her attack with both hands and flowed with the force she exerted, falling easily backward and allowing her momentum to carry her over my head and into the wall beyond. I stripped the second weapon from her as I did so and tossed it out of range as well. "You sound like a petulant child complaining over a stolen toy," I taunted. 

  


She righted herself and attacked again. This time she aimed both feet at my chest in a flying leap. I ducked at the last moments and came up under her, shoving her upward toward the ceiling and then moving out of the way of her inevitable fall. "If you didn't want me here, you shouldn't have invited me," I grinned, enjoying the battle. 

  


"I didn't invite you," she snarled, sweeping a leg at my feet in a misguided attempt to pull them from under me. 

  


Instead, her face connected with my fist as she stood and she rocked back in surprise. "Of course you did," I insisted as I dodged her counter punch. "That's why I'm here." 

"You won't be here long," she responded as one of her kicks finally connected with my abdomen. 

  


"Your power has improved," I noted with an elbow to her chin. "I'm glad to see that you have finally begun to pay attention to our lessons. Your anger is negatively impacting your effectiveness, though; you need to think more dispassionately in combat," I taunted her. 

  


With a shriek, she loosed a flurry of rapid-fire punches. I deflected most of them; but one caught me a glancing blow across the chin and another landed on one shoulder. "So just why are you so angry with me anyway? What have I done to deserve such ire?" I demanded as I grappled with her. 

  


She stilled for a moment, craftily before planting a blade from the toe of her boot in my calf. Ignoring the pain, I tightened the muscle and twisted, snapping it. 

  


"You hurt the Gorgonyte," she accused. 

  


"Rak'han? I didn't hurt him. I killed him. But he attempted to destroy the Andromeda and everyone on board. His death was necessary." I told her as I avoided the knife imbedded in the toe of her other boot. 

  


"Noooo," she wailed, attacking me wildly. "I told all of you not to hurt him." 

  


I captured her, trapping her arms by her sides within the circle of my own and lifting her from the ground to limit her leverage. Then I used the strength of my legs, wrapping one of them around both of hers to prevent her from sinking the other blade into my flesh. "Oh, you mean the other one. I'll have to remember to ask his name when I see him again," I teased. 

  


She sagged in my grip, clearly hoping I would loosen it. I didn't. "What makes you think I hurt him? In fact, I distinctly remember protecting him from several other irate members of this ship's crew. So, you got any other reasons for wanting me dead?" 

  


She sputtered like a spitting cat, "You touched my tree." 

  


"A capital crime indeed had you not invited me to do so," I retorted while she squirmed in my grip. 

  


"I did not," I heard petulance in her denial. 

  


"Of course you did. You died needlessly. We had already won the battle. You had already rescued Beka. You could have boarded the shuttle and piloted her home yourself. Instead you sent her back with the Gorgonyte that tortured her and told us not to hurt it. Then you blew yourself up, an absurd, ridiculous, unnecessary action. Why? If you had really wanted to protect it, you could have returned with it. The crew would have listened to you; Dylan would have listened to you. He always had before." 

  


"No," she shook her head. 

  


"Yes," I insisted. "So why? This was the question I asked myself. What possible purpose in the universe could her senseless death serve? That's when I realized that your death was an invitation, calling me here to engage in the one action I would not have considered had you returned to the ship. Your death was a lesson for me." 

  


"Damned, egotistical Nietzschean," she swore, "Not everything is about you." 

  


"In my universe it is. And you stepped into my universe at the moment that you decided to pull a Tyr." 

  


As I spoke I could see that she recognized that thought as an unexpressed description of her prior self's analysis of her previous self's actions. For a moment I was with her in the cockpit of the slipfighter racing toward the ship that held Beka captive and she thought, "I hope I don't mess anything up by pulling a Tyr." 

  


"I never . . . You can't . . . Get your ego out of my past!" she struggled and kicked, but the worst damage she could do from her restrained position was scratch my shin with her remaining boot blade. 

  


I brushed my lips lightly against her ear as I spoke, "You chide me for my ego as you wreak violent revenge upon your friends for not heeding your last words. What an ego you have child. But I am glad for this ego of yours for it is ego that gives spirit and form to flesh. It is ego that drives will. Today, our ego, our will has changed the shape of the universe, yours and mine together." 

  


"Keep dreaming," she snorted. "You and I will never be together." 

  


"Trance, from the moment of your disillusion, you and I, your will and mine have been one with the will of the universe. You are the killer in me and I am the lover in you and we are one." I gripped her more tightly. "Had you not said, 'Don't hurt him," and died for no reason, I'd have killed them all, exterminated them like rabid magog. But for that senseless sacrifice, I'd have slaughtered him. Instead, I thought about your endless babbling about perfect possible futures." 

  


"Babbling," she twisted in indignation; but I did not permit her to escape. 

  


Rather, I squeezed her until she stopped, then continued, "The present you had left behind was unacceptable. In the perfect possible future both the Gorgonyte and Trance live. What choices did I need to make? What actions did I need to take to facilitate that perfect possible future?" 

  


"You are not capable of that." she rolled her eyes in scorn. 

  


"And here I thought you knew that I am capable of anything and that that was the reason for your inability to fully trust me. Understand Trance. Those questions were not unfamiliar to me. Those questions frame my actions every moment of every day. You and I may dispute the content of the perfectly possible future but do not doubt my ability to bring the future that I desire into being." 

  


"You can't force me to agree with you," Trance sneered. 

  


"I can bring into being a context in which you will choose to agree with me," I smiled. 

  


"And I can bring into being a context in which you die. Yes, that future sounds pretty perfect right now." She sank her nails into my arm but I ignored the pain and maintained my hold on her. 

  


"Your perfect future may be devoid of me; but mine includes you. No sooner did I think the question than the answer came to me and I acted in accord with that will. I performed the one action I would not have had you lived. I accepted your invitation. I entered your quarters. I lifted your clippers and I studied your tree. The tree was your metaphor, your inspiration, your perspective. The only way I could guide my actions to create the context of my perfect future was to see the universe as you saw it." 

  


I twisted us both so we faced the bonsai. "Look at it," I insisted, "Look at what I did; see what I saw." 

  


"I did," she growled ferally, "I saw it all." 

  


"But did you understand it?" I whispered. 

  


"I understand that you all betrayed me," she screamed, writhing in my arms once again. 

  


I refused to yield. Her rage excited me and I pressed our bodies closer together until she grew still against me once again. 

  


"You saw what you needed to see then to make now possible," I told her. "See what I saw then, now, to make tomorrow possible." 

  


Without loosing my hold on her I drew us toward the bar. I lifted the clippers and forced them into one of her hands, my fingers pressed over hers, guiding them. "I saw a series of choices. Two branches in conflict. One, established branch risked being choked by a new, young shoot. Whether I chose the branch or the shoot, the implications of the choice were death. I needed a way to choose life. And that, Trance, is what I did to your tree. I chose life. I found a way that permitted both to live. I acted in the only possible way I could act and be in accord with the will of the universe, my will." 

  


"Still not about you," Trance growled. 

  


"No? It is, not. It is about you and your ego and your finding sufficient will to be you again and how I can help you return from the Abyss." Her eyes began to shine as I spoke. 

  


"You know nothing about me. You have no idea how dangerous I am. I will kill you," she said quietly. And her red skin glowed with the strength of her passion. 

  


"Are you so eager for death then?" I taunted and stretched our coupled hands which still held the clippers forward and placed their edge against the bark at the base of the trunk of the tree. "Then let's do it. No half measures. I'm the only one on board who tried to keep your pet Gorgonyte alive; so if you intend to kill me for not hurting him, you are going to have to kill us all. Are you ready for that? Is that really the perfect possible future you wanted? One dominated by death and anger." 

  


As she and I stood, still locked in our violent embrace, the room filled with crimson light until only red was visible as far as the eye could see. "I understand death and rage just as well as you do, child. I know what it means to choose death and express the rage of the universe. I also know what it means to destroy the self, to kill the ego to preserve the self of another." 

  


"Don't you ever get tired of talking about yourself? News flash, normally taciturn Tyr soliloquizes," Trance quipped flippantly. "Now let go of me and get out! You don't belong here!" 

  


"Don't be so sure. No one on this ship experiences their emotions with the intensity I do. Rage, joy, grief, happiness, pain, pleasure, every moment of every day, coded into my DNA, emotion written into the very fiber of my being." 

  


"No!" her whole body shook with her denial. "This is my place, not yours." 

  


I laughed out loud and kissed the cheek of the red Trance cradled in my embrace. "You know," I admitted, "I love you like this. I really do. So full of raging passion. Yes, I find red Trance quite to my liking." 

  


I laughed again and Trances in a myriad of colors suddenly stretched into infinity. "You are absolutely right, child," and I kissed her again. "I belong here, where I can see all of the alternatives and their implications spread out before me. Existing in this place is unity, balance. Action form this place is in perfect concert with the will of the universe, my will." 

  


She stared at her billions of selves. "Not about you," she repeated dully. 

  


"Overwhelming emotion is no excuse for abandoning thought before action. You must find a balance between mind and feeling to survive, child, not be enslaved by them. You know this truth. You always think before you act. You look; you see. Look now and see what happens when you don't. Billions of Trances in a rainbow of colors stretching out into eternity. Multi colored Trances. Every moment of every day a choice, child. You know as well as I the value of continually thinking through the ramifications of one's acts, continually observing one's self and one's contexts. Why have you stopped? Why have you locked yourself in a monologic perspective?" A ripple ran through the myriad Trances. 

  


"Past, present, future, time, space, all are one at the speed of light, child. You were one with the universe then; you are one with the universe now. Every moment of every day you always/already engage in right action if you look, listen, think, learn. All are one. From here we can go anywhere you want to go. From here, the universe has no limits." 

  


"Let me go," she screamed. "I made my decision. I don't belong here." 

  


"Yes," I said, "you do. You still have to decide whether you shall exercise you own will, the will of the universe, as you move forward; or shall you serve the will of the Abyss." 

  


"Choose Trance," I demanded as I released her. "Where will we go from here?" 


	37. Chapter 37

Part 37 

Trance's POV 

  
  


I looked at Tyr's back as he left the brig, there I sat in the small room they thought could hold me, hitting my head against the wall, "Well this sucks" I say out loud. I sit there thinking what had happen in the last few hours. The fight, that alien finding me out, scaring the shit out of the people that I'm suppose to love and are suppose to love me, the thing with Tyr, I think about that and glare, what makes him think I will ever be on his side, out of all the people on this ship I hated him the most, he was my only threat to complete power over this ship. I'd have to deal with him fast, get him out of the way. 

I took a look at my battered self, cuts, busies, blood, grease from Rommie , broken bones, missing hair, and yet I didn't feel pain, none of it, I had simply pushed it to the side. I was getting weak and I knew it, soon I'd fill that pain. I can change this I say to myself, but I would be making myself open for attack, maybe that's what Tyr was waiting for. I couldn't see the possible futures, that was one of the things I had given up for my knew knowledge, I could tell what a person would do before they did it. I looked at my wounds once more, convincing myself before standing, I stood straight, letting that once little light that was my core of power flow. It sped its way through my body, touching every wound, cleaning and closing, making my body as good as knew, the world around me was gone I was in my own, a world of light and colors. I felt the last of the cuts closing and the broken ribs and shoulder healing completely, the light went out and I fell from my world. 

  


I opened my eyes, white all white. I jump to my feet, and look around. "You're back." I spin and see my gold self a small smirk on her face "No you didn't die again. You're passed out." 

  


I look at her "Where's the other?" 

  


As if on cue she pops up "Hello" 

  


I look at her, so sweet, un harmed, not a care in the world. "Hey." I look from her to the golden self "So why am I here again. To give me another choice?" 

  


I watch as my golden self laughs "In a way... to help you, I'm here to give you those possible futures and show you which one will help you take power and-" 

  


My purple self cutes her off "Or how you can get them all out of this alive and give Dylan back the ship, and maybe get back on good terms with the crew." 

  


I look at them, " Oh ok show" 

  


My golden self closes her eyes and a picture appears on the white wall. It move fast, me killing Tyr in cold blood, making Dylan's mind never return, making Beka follow me, seducing Harper into following my every order. Then getting the alien into the future I seen him as. Then it went white again. I smile that looked fun. Before I could say anything another picture began. Helping Beka get better, Helping Dylan, Getting Tyr to give back control, getting Harper to trust me again, then leaving to help the alien. 

  


As it ended I look around "That's it? Having complete power or giving it back to Dylan and going back to the way I used to be?" I didn't like that. 

  


Someone was touching me! My arm snapped up and grabbed the neck and squeezed. I opened my eyes to meet ice blue orbs, blood shot from air loss, I let go as fast as I had grabbed it, and looked into those eyes again, and the gasping form they belonged too. "Harper?" I reached up to see if he was ok, and he jumped back, my face fell. "Sorry, reflects." 

He glared at me for a moment before saying "That was some light show." he rubbed his neck and moved back to the door and sat next to it "I thought you might have killed your self." 

  


I looked at him, he wasn't concerned for me, he had hope it was true, now that stung. "I had to fix myself, I was weak." I looked around noticing he was the only one, "Why are you here?" 

  


His face hardens "I was told to look after you." 

  


I laughed "Look after me?, do they really think you could stop 

me if I wanted to leave? I would have expected more from our Mr. Control Freak." 

  


Harper stood and walked over to me. "Harsh words about a person you used to believe in." 

  


I stood to my full height and looked him in the eyes. "If you haven't noticed, I've done some changing, I've learn the truth about all of you." 

  


Harper looked at me "What I've noticed is you've became a Grade A Bitch." 

  


I smile "Ooh Bad Ass Harper" I smile more and take a step closer "I think I like this. But Bitch?" 

  


He took another step closer to me our faces inches apart " Would you prefer Power Hungry Killer." 

  


I smile wickedly "Actually I think I like that, but I'm more driven by revenge." 

  


Harper eyes stiffened "What?" 

  


I looked at him for a moment then spoke "I know exactly what you did, you beat the crap out of the one being that saved Beka and let me get rid of that ship and the things on it, and what's the thanks he gets? You beating the shit out of him and the crew wanting him dead!" My anger was rising, I could tell. "You almost killed the person that's gonna make a difference in this Fucked up Universe!" Harper's face went blank "What about my final words huh? Don't you think I'd have a good reason for sending him here?" 

  


Harper looked at me, "But... you killed your self. I thought..." he went off into a ramble then he looked me in the eyes "I didn't know, but you had killed your self, You could have found ways around killing your self!!!" his face was red. 

  


I looked back at him "Do you really think I wanted to leave you of all the people, I loved you." 

  


Harpers face went blank "What?" 

  


I let my eyes fall I couldn't stand to look at him. "I watched you cry over me and beat your self up over me. I had the hardest time saying goodbye to you, then I end up back here and I have to see you again, and now all I can think about is how's the quickest way yo kill you, or if I want what will cause the most pain and drag it out. Then all the little things you'd do to try and save your doomed life." 

  


I looked back up into a pair of shocked eyes, Harpers face slightly whiter than normal. "Wha... what did you do to yourself? This can't be what you planed, I know you Trance." 

  


I looked at my skin "You only think you know me, and plus I knew what I was giving up." This was over, he knew enough. I went to walk out of the cell went I felt a hand on my shoulder, spinning I grabbed the arm and twisted it around pulling Harper in front of me. I leaned close to him, whispering in his ear "Now Harper... I'm not the Trance you knew, we've covered this, and you know if I wanted to, I could kill you three times before you hit this ground. Now after That's been said are you going to try and stop me?" I felt him shake his head. I let him go and as he when to grab me I grabbed his face making him look me in the eyes. "Look into my eyes, see my light." As I said the final words I felt him go limp, out cold. I lowered him to the ground. "Silly Harper, you never listened to well." he'd wake in a few min, with one hell of a headache, but for the most part fine, then he's find me. 

I continued to walk to the small door, placing my small hand on the latch and pushing until I felt a snap and the door swung open. Smiling I walked out and shut the door, that should slow Harper down some what. 

I continued to walk down the hall, I had to fine the alien and then deal with Tyr, I could sense Andromeda tracking me, she couldn't track by life sign, I had none, so she was most like tracking by brain function or body heat, both I could fix. I lower my heat to nothing, then covered up my brain function, I walked over to a control panel and opened it, typing in a few well placed codes, knocking out the cameras through out the ship so she couldn't see me. I smiled at my work, as I crawled into a conduct, I could feel the alien he was close, I was a few meters from sick bay, but all I felt in there was Beka, she was moving around a lot. Then I felt Tyr, with my enhanced hearing I heard him barking more orders, something about helping Dylan, so that must mean Dylan wasn't well yet, and still in his quarters. Ok that left Rommie, Harper hadn't had time to fix her so she was probably no problem to me. Ok so with the coast mostly clear I moved to find the Alien, and make sure he was safe. 

I began to crawl, in the direction I felt him, I moved along slowly, still listening for any sign of Tyr trying to follow he was, or he was heading in the same direction as me I moved fasted and as I came into view of the alien I saw him enter as well, Damn, he spoke to him in a harsh tone "Alien, Report." 

I saw the fear in his eyes as he shuddered out "The virus is mostly gone, it was very complex, for the time he had, but I was able to get it out. I don't know what it did to your captain, but I will see what I can do about him." I smiled he was lying, he knew I was here. 

  


Tyr looked at him and walked out in a huff, as I crawled out. "You're suppose to get on there good side." I smile as I walk up to him and look him over I notice a small bruise on his arm "Did Tyr do that?" 

He looked at me "Yes, but I'm fine, you don't look like you were in a fight." he looked back at his work. 

  


I smiled "Yes... well I got better." I looked around "I have to do some things, you keep up the work, make them believe." that said I walked out and down the hall heading for Tyr. I rounded a corner and was stopped dead by that one and only Blonde street rat, Harper. I looked at him a look on his face that I couldn't read "I thought I'd have you out longer." 

  


Harper walked up to me his face again only inches from mine "what are you up to now?" his eyes were glasses over, it was working. 

I smiled "I'm gonna beat the shit out of Tyr." 

  


He looked at me, "I can't let you do that." 

  


Shit he was fighting, I look at him again, a sweet look on my face, the same sweet look as I had when I was young, the look Harper never said no to. "Yes you will, and while I'm away you'll going to get a slip fighter ready I'm gonna leave soon." 

  


He looked at me for a moment, I could tell he was fighting himself, I had tapped into that love he had for me and used it to my advantage. He gave me a wicked glance. "And why should I do that?" 

  


He broke it!! Crap crap crap, ok plan B. I leaned into him placing my lip inches above his ear speaking in a low dark tone. "I need you Harper, you need me, we can work together, you and me, That's what you've always wanted. Forget the rest of them, I can get you away from here, you can have your own part in fixing all this. After helping the alien, it'll be just you... and me... alone." I pull back and look him square in the eyes "Whatda say?" 

  


His eyes study me for a moment "How long will you be?" 

  


I smiled even more wicked "That's my Harper, not long." he nods and walks past me heading for the hanger bay. T speed up and walk faster heading for Tyr, time for a bit of payback, I worked though the possible ways I could do it, a quick shot, or a long ass fight. aww I'll go for a quick one, get it over with. I walk into Med and smile there he was standing tall and all big and think tough. I pull out my blades and as I knew he spun around. "Hello Tyr." 

  


He looked at me with complete confidence "Trance" his eyes locked on my blades 

  


I jump at him counter acting his movement and landing in front of him, a look of slight shock on his face, before he could even move I slice in to his stomach and push him down. I watch as he lands on the floor holding his bleeding stomach. I bend down and smile at him "Well this has to suck... what side do you think I picked?" I lean in a kiss his cheek softly " pack backs a bitch huh?" I jump up with a little hop and walk out wiping my blade on my outfit. Heading for Harper First I'd have to stop for the alien, I still hadn't made up my mind on what I was gonna do after we got a way but I had a idea and now I had Harper, so I could think of a few more. I walked fast, soon turning into a run. I ran into the room with the alien. 

  


He was waiting. "I'm done, I fixed everything, they should be okay." 

  


I nodded "okay lets go, I've got Harper waiting with a slip fighter." I watched him flitch at the thought of Harper. "I won't let him lay a hand on you, plus he won't I think I've got him convened." 

  


He nodded and walked up to me "Then lead the way" 

  


I turn and walked out, watching every corner, Andromeda had to know what was going on by now and was probably trying to find a way to stop me, or she had sent Beka to find me. I looked at the alien "Can you run?" he nodded. I picked up the pace as I headed for the hanger bay. I ran in with the alien close behind, seeing Harper waiting I smiled. 

  


"Took ya long enough. Come on." he opened the doors and climbed in, with me behind followed by the alien. 

  


I started to type in the codes when I felt it, the doors locking down, Andromeda was tying to stop us. "Harper this is why I brought you..." before I could finish he was already working on the doors, I smiled back at him as they opened. "That's what I love about you." we sped out of the ship, I typed in the quartets for the place I had in mind for the alien's little party. And we were off. 

  


Ok people hope I didn't mess anyone up, but I needed a new twist and Harper was screaming to me. And Tyr had to be beat up. 


	38. Chapter 38

Part 38

Beka's POV

I was now on my way to Dylan's quarters to take care of him. I hoped he'd be all right and that things would go back to the way they'd been before.   
  
On the bright side, my eyesight was getting better. That was good because I really hadn't relished the idea of being permanently blinded. But that was behind me now. I had other things to think about. Namely Dylan.   
  
I entered his quarters and found him tossing and turning. "Dylan, it's me, Beka. It's going to be O.K." He didn't seem to hear me. I went to him and started bathing his face, arms and such to try to bring down the fever. "Come on, Hunt. Fight it off. You're the captain of this ship, after all. So get well and take back your ship, damnit!"   
  
I was upset about his being sick like this but I had to admit trying to care for Dylan was better than thinking about what had happened to me. It was too unpleasant. Dylan needed me right now and I would be there for him because that's who I am and what I do.   
  
I wanted him back so I continued to do what I could for him. I didn't know how much help I could give him but I would try. So I used the medical supplies I had with me to the best of my ability. I wasn't Rommie or Trance.   
  
Trance. Trance wasn't even Trance anymore. I wouldn't think about that. I had a job to do and it required all my attention.   
  
"Come on, Dylan. You'd better not die on me or anything because then I'd have to kill you." Yes, I know that made no sense at all. But nothing had made sense for a very long time. At least since before I'd gone out on that mission.   
  
But now Dylan was mumbling things and I strained to hear and see if I could make anything that he was saying out. "Beka."   
  
"I'm here."   
  
"I'm so sorry I sent you out on that mission. You got hurt and it's all my fault. I'm sorry." He started crying.   
  
I tried my best to soothe him. "It's O.K. I'm O.K. I'm back now. It wasn't your fault. I don't blame you. I never blamed you. It was--." I wasn't going to think about it now. Dylan didn't seem to hear me. He was getting more agitated by the minute. I didn't know what to do. If he was going to get better at all he had to rest. "Dylan, please. It's all right."   
  
"Beka. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I love you so much."   
  
I froze halfway between awareness and numbness. The fever was making him delusional. Yes, that's it. He didn't mean it. Hell, he wouldn't even remember this when he recovered. Because he would. There was no way I was letting him die.   
  
He'd recover and we'd go on like before. Because he didn't love me. There was no way. If he did he wouldn't go out of his way to come on to and bed every living female we came across. O.K. Maybe that was a slight exaggeration. And what did I care anyway? Was I jealous? Of course not. What Dylan Hunt did was no concern of mine. I didn't care.   
  
Well for someone who doesn't care you're acting a lot like you do. No. It couldn't be. Am I in love with Dylan Hunt? I-I don't know. I know I have feelings for him. Just normal ones, though. He's a good friend and a good man. Plus he's different from the other men in my life. He's better.   
  
Well he was until he started going for the title of intergalactic skirt chaser. There I go again. It sounds like I'm jealous and I'm not. I could care less. No, that's not true. I do care. O.K. So maybe I am in love with Dylan Hunt. So what. It doesn't really mean anything. He doesn't really love me. If he did he wouldn't do what he does.   
  
Why not? He has no idea I'm in love with him, does he? No. So. So maybe he wouldn't do it if he realized that it bothers me so much. That it hurts. Because it does. I never realized until just now how much it actually does. Of course that could be because he's no longer an ideal man for me to look up to and is just like all the rest of the men in my life.   
  
No, it's more than that. I've been crushed before and it only hurts like this when the feelings are there. Great! Wonderful! I just discovered that I'm in love with Dylan Hunt and he might die.   
  
No. He won't. He can't. I said I won't let him and I meant it. But now what? It's not a good time for this. He's not going to remember this anyway. And what if he doesn't mean it? He probably doesn't. Good. Well not good but at least it's settled. He doesn't mean it and he'll never remember it.   
  
So it will never need to be said because I'm certainly not going to say anything to him. Or anyone else for that matter. Is that sad or what? We might have had something special if he meant it at all.   
  
Stop thinking like that, Valentine! It's not helping.   
  
I turned to check on him again. He seemed to have settled down while I was having my conversation with myself. He wasn't ranting and raving anymore. Now he was sleeping. Good. He needed rest. "As long as you don't die everything will be all right." I told him.   
  
Actually I didn't really believe that but it sounded good. Anything to make him rally. Because we did need him. We still had the problems of what to do with the Gorgonyte and Trance's latest incarnation. If it was Trance. I still had my doubts. And there was Rommie and the Andromeda to fix. As well as Tyr. He was in command now. What did that mean? Was it good or bad?   
  
I hoped it was good. It had to be. Tyr and I were still friends, right? He'd wanted to get me back as much as the others had. Yes, whatever else happened, Tyr was a friend. I believed that. I trusted that. I had to. And I would go with those feelings to wherever they led. 


	39. Chapter 39

Part 39

Harper's POV   
  
It was a dizzing affect. One that spiraled forth from the very base of my emotions, the very base of my love for Trance. It overwhelmed all my senses. I had approached her angry and resentful but the second I looked in her eyes I couldn't be angry. I felt I needed her…I felt a yearning for to be pleased with me.   
  
"I thought I'd have you out longer." She said but her words sounded like sweet music. I felt drugged and strange as everything seemed to swirl and dance.   
  
"What are you up to now?" I whispered. I wanted to know and be apart of her loop. I wanted to follow no matter what and her lips curled in approval but her uncharacteristic smile caused an internal argument. Yes I loved Trance, yes I wanted her with everything I had…but that smile wasn't my Trance…Her clothes were different. Her skin was different. Even her smell was different…she didn't smell golden and fresh anymore. She smelled like blood and scorched flesh.   
  
"I'm gonna beat the shit out of Tyr." She said sadistically her hands gripping her sheathed blades tightly as if she couldn't wait to exact pain on her former friend and shipmate. My mind waged a battle, my eyes snapping in and out of focus. At one moment I would see the love of my life…at the next I'd still see the love of my life but she was smoldered and weighed down with hate and resentment. The fight continued but soon the only image that was left was the sad one…the euphoric fuzz lifted from my eyes and brain I could see her for what she really was.   
  
"I can't let you do that." I said looking directly in her eyes. Her smirk shifted to a frown. Her disappointment apparent on her hot red face. Her trick didn't work. I could see through her no matter what spell she tried to put on me because I loved her to much to see a lie.   
  
"Yes you will, and while I'm away you're going to get a slip fighter ready I'm gonna leave soon." She spat watching me intently. Obviously trying to see if she could rekindle the spell she had placed on me like some love sick witch.   
  
"And why should I do that?" I said and she looked exasperated. She stepped up to me whispering in my ear. Trying desperately to use my love for her against me, as if my love for her was my weakness. In reality it was my strength, it made me keep going…forced me not to give up on her. I had never been so determined in all my life. I couldn't watch her destroy herself…watch her kill everything she stood for. She looked at me after she whispered. Her eyes pleading for me to just consent…she didn't want to kill me and right now her love for me had become her weakness. Now the tables had turned. I gazed at her. The silence lying thick between us. She wanted a slip fighter…but what was her plan? I decided to play along to find out.   
  
"How long will you be?" I said and she radiated with happiness. And I could see her chest heave with relief and for that split second she looked like purple trance. Her satisfied smile quickly turned to a wicked smirk and my hope was dashed.   
  
"That's my Harper, not long." She said. I nodded and padded down the hall toward the docking bay. I had a lot of work to do. As I briskly walked the halls I thought of my plan. An ultimatum of sorts. I entered the docking bay, brushed my hair back and got to work, determined to bring an end to this one way or another.   


* * *

  
  
Trance hadn't taken long to enter the docking bay and just as I had assumed the gorgonyte was in tow. I greeted her playing into my love sick boy routine that she ate up greedily. We all hopped into the slipfighter when suddenly andromeda tried to lock the docking bay down. I swore in my head. This wasn't part of my plan.   
  
"Harper this is why I brought you..." Trance said but I was already on it. My fingers worked across the console and sure enough the doors opened and Trance immediately sent us whirling into space. I braced myself wondering if my plan was a good one. This was a last resort…their was no turning back. We rode in silence. Only the gorgonyte's breathing could be heard in the cramped space. I watched the stars go by letting my mind wonder over my favorite moments with trance. I realized that most of those moments included the purple pixie…I wanted her back so bad. I had to get her back…   
  
"Trance…Where are we going?" I said secretly switching on a communication device I had installed on the ship.   
  
"We're going to meet the folks" she said almost playfully.   
  
"We are going to meet your family?" I said trying to pry more information out…hoping she would give away something for the andromeda to use to find us. I could see her smile through the cockpit glass, enjoying our little talk.   
  
"Yep, I guess our relationship has hit that next level…I'm bringing you home to mama" she laughed and the slipfighter surged forward picking up even more speed, she looked excited to go home. The sudden speed made the communication device crackle and whistle. Trances eyes narrowed. She turned toward me slowly letting the slip fighter gradually slow down. Her eyes already seething with anger.   
  
"What was that Harper?" She said, her teeth bared for me to see, the red of her skin blazing as she looked at me from under her lashes. I looked over to the gorgonyte but he could offer no help, he seemed just as afraid.   
  
"She reached around and tore away the little pad I had attached to the underbelly of my console. Sparks erupted from the torn circuits as she analyzed it. The ship has come to a full stop by this point and her eyes slowly moved from the pad to me. She looked utterly disappointed.   
  
"and here I thought you really wanted to be with me…" She said smiling.   
  
"But you are constantly letting me down…" she gritted her teeth and when I opened my mouth to speak she back handed me sharply. I froze and so did she. My cheek burned and she looked somewhat sorry for what she did…her eyes softened a bit.   
  
"If you want to stay with me you have to stop undermining me! I know what I'm doing!" she screamed at me but it didn't have much force. She seemed weak and out of it. She crushed the pad in her hands and let it drop to the floor. Then she grabbed my collar.   
  
"Any other gadgets I should know about…" she said. Her hot angry breath on my face. Her lips tight and her jaw ridged.   
  
"I knew you wouldn't listen to reason. So I installed one other device… " I said. This would be it…the last resort...the insanity had to stop.   
  
"What is it?" she growled.   
  
"I call it the ultimatum. I've rigged this slip fighter to blow in exactly 10 minuets and only I can stop it." I said and her eyes widened. She pulled her fist back but her eyes wavered when she gazed into mine.   
  
"If you kill me I won't be able to stop it and we will all die…even you precious gorgonyte. I only ask one thing of you Trance…one thing and I'll stop the countdown."   
  
"What is it?" she spat gripping on to my collar even tighter.   
  
"I want you to be innocent again. I want you to be loving and rational. I want you to be purple again. " I said reaching out to stroke her red angry face.   
  
"I'm sorry I can't do that." She snarled but she didn't flinch when I touched her face.   
  
"Then I'm sorry I can't stop the countdown either." I said pulling my hand back. We continued to stare as the time dwindled down…neither one willing to give an inch… 


	40. Chapter 40

Tyr's POV

He waited, taut. His heart ached with joy for her. He looked deep into her eyes and what he saw twisted in his gut. She was being manipulated. The choice wasn't hers. The Abyss held her. But how?

How had the Abyss gained control? Why was she suddenly vulnerable? He was missing most of the pieces; but if he didn't solve this puzzle, they would lose her to the Abyss forever. He would do whatever he had to do to see that that didn't happen. He knew from experience how seductive the darkness was, how hard to fight. But her light was stronger than the darkness before; and it could be again, if he could just figure out how the Abyss was affecting her and help her overcome it. The look of anguish on the purple Trance nearest him tugged at his heart and he reached out a finger to wipe a tear from her cheek.

The colored Trances around him began to undulate as she made her decision. As he saw that motion reflected in the teardrop on his finger, Tyr remembered his ancient science professor reading Annie Cannon aloud, "Sunlight and starlight are composed of waves of various lengths, which the eye, even aided by a telescope, is unable to separate. We must use more than a telescope. In order to sort out the component colors, the light must be dispersed by a prism, or split up by some other means" (272). In that moment he knew that something was dispersing Trance's light; the Abyss must have gone to the source. It must have sabotaged Trance's sun.

An evil grin split her lovely face as the ripples resolved and the brig appeared around them. She needed him to play a specific role right now; and for the moment, he would fulfill her expectations, the violation would come later. "Drago's bones woman, why? These people love you. Are you enacting some sort of juvenile tit for tat?"

Helping her was going to be tricky. This room wouldn't hold her; but apparently she wanted to pretend to be a prisoner. His eyebrow raised almost imperceptibly at the idea that she thought him stupid enough to believe that. It was time to raise the ante.

I leaned into her where she sat on the Brig bench. I placed a hand on each of her thighs and squeezed tightly. Ignoring her discomfort, I captured her lips with mine, pressing her head back against the Brig wall, hard. Enraged, she twisted in an effort to avoid me; but I ravished her mouth, bent her completely to my desire. And all the while, I breathed her.

I released her abruptly and stepped back. "Sure you don't want to rethink that choice?" I taunted before I exited the Brig. That should tick her off plenty. Focusing her rage on me just might make the rest of the crew a little bit safer.

I took every conduit short cut and, at top speed, beat my previous best time from the brig to engineering.

"Harper, report!" I barked.

"I've cleared the virus from Rommie's systems and repaired as much of the fight damage as I could quickly. She's running a self-diagnostic followed by a programmed reboot. She'll be up and running again in about thirty minutes. Our Gorgonyte buddy here has constructed a counter virus. Andromeda's systems will be fully restored in about twenty minutes. We think Rha'kan programmed it into nanytes and they are causing Dylan's infection. He's programming some with the counter virus. Hopefully the nanyte flu shot will fix the Captain's sniffles" the beleaguered engineer responded.

"Good work," I grinned, clamping a hand on his shoulder, "and now I have another job for you. I left Trance locked in the Brig. I'd like you to go keep an eye on her."

As Harper exited engineering, my mind worked furiously. I needed him to keep Trance occupied while I put my plan into action. I addressed the Gorgonyte, "Thank you for your help with the virus."

"Tara' Han," it replied, "My name is Tara' Han." It blinked its eyes slowly. "I never expected fair treatment and trust from a Nietzschean; but you have shown me both."

"Call me Tyr," I responded, "and I hope my trust in you made an impression because I'm about to ask you to trust me in return. Tell me about the sun that your ancestral homeworld orbits. What color is it?"

"An odd question. It used to be blue; but a couple of years ago it shifted to yellow. Why?"

Tara' Han gave me an odd look as I exclaimed, "I knew it!" striking the console with my fist as I spoke.

The violence of my reaction caused the Gorgonyte to jump a little and roll its eyes at me in fear. "Relax!" I growled. "I'm pleased, not angry. Now, tell me the coordinates of your homeworld."

Tara' Han recoiled, "You expect me to betray my people."

"No," I said flatly, "Despite everything they have done, I plan to help you save them."

"Andromeda, display a picture of Trance for Tara' Han, a purple picture" I ordered.  
The ship provided a darling picture that included both Trance's tail and tattoo.

The Gorgonyte's eyes widened and it made some strange movements with its arms before it said. "What kind of beings are you to possess images of the Goddess? She will smite you."

"Yes," I chuckled, "I'm sure that she would very much like to smite me right now. The being that I know as Trance is the same being that your people have worshipped for centuries. And that, Tara' Han, is why I need you to enter the coordinates of your homeworld into Andromeda's computer system before Trance breaks out of the Brig and comes to collect you."

The Gorgonyte looked skeptical. "We don't have much time," I told him, "I suspect that she intends to return home and take you with her. If the Andromeda doesn't know where she is headed, we won't be able to help you or your people."

One of the lights on the console flashed. "The nanyte reprogramming is complete," Tara' Han said as he handed me the container. "You should take them to your Captain." I could see that he remained unconvinced.

"Tyr," Andromeda demanded my attention. "Harper has entered the Brig."

"Tell Beka to meet me in medical, now!" I moved toward the door. "Tara' Han, the decision is yours. I'll do what I can to help you and protect you and your people from Trance's plans. I'll come back after I have delivered the nanytes to learn your decision."

I dashed to medical; I didn't have much time now. Beka arrived only a second after I did. I loaded a hypo with Tara' Han's reprogrammed nanytes and handed it to Beka with instructions to administer it to Dylan.

"Explanation? You planning one?" she asked. I could tell that she wanted to trust me but wasn't sure she should.

"Yeah, but you won't like it," I frowned. "That hypo is loaded with nanytes reprogrammed by the Gorgonyte with a counter-virus. I trusted him to help you and Andromeda. Now I'm trusting him to help Dylan."

Before she could object, I cut her off. "I don't have time to argue. Trance is being influenced by the Abyss. She is in the Brig with Harper right now; but she won't stay there long."

"With Harper, are you insane? She'll kill him. He isn't strong enough to stop her." She paused as the realization hit her. "Oh my God, you're using him as bait."

"Yes, and I plan to keep my word to a Gorgonyte. I'll probably make Trance pay for that someday, but not today. Today, her decisions are being manipulated by the Abyss. Just look at the results of her actions. She can't help it; she is raging out of control. If we can't find a way to fix her, then we'll have to adapt to her until we can. Tell me Beka, who on this ship is better equipped to control raging emotion than me? Who feels as deeply as a Nietzschean? You can't be jealous of her; you have no reason. We both know where your heart lies."

"You could use a little doctoring before your next round with her." She took some supplies from the drawers and cabinets, preparing to tend his wounds. "Go on. I'm listening."

"You know she's going to steal a ship, probably yours. She knows that I won't let her take this one while Dylan is too incapacitated to fight for himself. She'll take the Gorgonyte and the little professor. That's why I think she'll take the Maru; three's a crowd for a slipfighter. But I'll be on board the Maru too, though she won't know it. She and I haven't danced our last dance yet. The rest is up to you, Dylan and Rommie. "

"What rest?" Beka asked as she began to attempt to doctor my wounds.

"The Gorgonyte is going to provide Andromeda with the coordinates of its homeworld. I think that's where Trance will head once she leaves the Andromeda. In return for the coordinates, I've promised to keep Tara' Han safe from the being that it believes to be the avenging God of its home. I've a hunch that the Abyss has done something to the sun of the Gorgonyte homeworld, Trance's sun, that has caused a red shift. I think the Abyss intends to cause Trance's sun to go supernova and Trance with it. I don't know for sure what has been done to it; it could be a lot of things, a super heavy element, an influx of tremendous amounts of matter or other fuel. And I don't know if it can be fixed. But I figure that Dylan would say that we owe it to Trance to at least try. I'm sorry I can't leave you Harper to help figure it out. But I need him to help me keep her ladyship interested right up until the time that she thinks that I'm out of the way. Once we are gone, you, Dylan and Rommie have to take the Andromeda to the Gorgonyte homeworld and find a way to stop the chain reaction in her sun."

I brushed Beka's attempts to treat my wounds aside. "Save your medical help for later. She's coming. Her smell is getting stronger and we've all got our parts to play in this little drama." I raised my voice. "So leave me alone and take your healing talents to Dylan's side. I've got work to do;" and I stormed from medical.

Her smell was headed for Tara' Han. I wanted to reassure him that he had my help. She was in the conduit. Her musk was so strong to me now that I could trace her every move; and she had no idea that I was tracking her. She thought me a fool; but she had swallowed my Harper bait whole. Of course, the fact that he didn't realize he was bait helped.

As I entered engineering, I strode across the room and deliberately turned my back on Trance, hiding in her conduit. I grasped the console with both hands. My torso blocked Red's view of my hands. I watched Tara' Han's fingers closely as I tapped a communication to him in the Gorgonyte's silent language. I'd tortured it out of a dozen or so of his race years earlier. I'd had enough words and phrases verified to be sure of what I was saying despite any attempts by those prisoners to prevaricate. "She is in the conduit," I tapped. "I suspect that she is just checking on you now. Once she thinks I am out of her way, she will probably take you to another ship. Don't worry. I will follow and keep you safe. Did you enter the coordinates?"

Aloud I barked at him to anger her and distract her from my drumming fingers, "Alien, report." The performance was for Trance's benefit. I winked at Tara' Han to reassure him, a gesture she couldn't see from her position.

He was frightened. He didn't answer my question. "I don't believe you can protect me from her," he tapped instead, "I don't want to see anyone else harmed." Out loud he repeated the gist of his earlier report on the virus.

I winked at him one more time. "Better decide about those coordinates soon," I tapped before storming out and dashing back to medical.

Adrenaline had prevented my injuries from hampering me until now; but thankfully Beka had understood my oblique message and left me a hypo filled with healing nanytes. My many wounds began to heal even as I prepared a second injection and slipped it into my pocket.

Any physical aches and pains had diminished when her scent assailed me as Trance entered the medical bay.

"Hello," she says to me with blades in hand. She completely underestimated me. I dropped my guard with a nonchalant deliberateness that I knew would translate to her as over-confidence. Her blade failed to penetrate my ribs. It was a bloody surface wound. I pretended it was worse than it was. I let her gloat as, like a true knight in shining armor I accepted the reward of her lips against my cheek.

When she left, I took the second injection, halting the bleeding and rapidly increasing the pace of healing.

"Tyr," Andromeda reported, "Trance has taken Harper and the Gorgonyte. She is attempting to leave with them in a slipfighter. I have locked down the docking bay."

I loaded extra medical supplies and a full kit of weapons and hastened to the pilot seat of the Maru. Three in a slipfighter, Trance really was out of her mind. At least it would make the ship heavy and slow. That combined with his tracking device meant that I could follow them just fine in the Maru. I just hoped that Harper wouldn't do anything stupid.

That hope was crushed when I heard a crackle on the communications system and then heard Trance tell Harper she was taking him home to meet her folks. When the voices were suddenly cut off, I knew his attempt had been discovered. The tiny tracking device that had helped me find Trance on the Gorgonyte ship showed me that this slipfighter had reduced velocity and then begun to coast, not a good sign.

I changed direction and matched velocity until the Maru could dock with the slipfighter. I hailed them. "Hello Princess. Problems with your transportation? Need a lift?" I wasn't sure just what was going on inside that tiny ship; but I wanted Harper and Tara' Han to know that they were not alone. I would save Trance and I would keep my word to that Gorgonyte.


	41. Chapter 41

Andromeda's pov:

After Harper sent the signal from inside the slipfighter, I opened my docking bay doors. Let Trance believe he influenced me. That I am manipulatable. All important individuals involved know the truth of the plan.

I send my hologram to find Tyr as Dylan is still unfit to command.

I find Tyr leaning over my avatar's still form when I coalesce. He seems to be evaluating the damage caused to her systems by Trance's secret weapon; some sort of energy pulse that overloaded Rommie's circuits. I am not certain. Scanners could not identify it and what my cameras registered is not in my databank records of the whole of Commonwealth history.

He does not look up at my arrival. He wipes at the dried blood on my avatar's chin with more tenderness than I would have ever attributed to him.

After an appropriate pause, I clear my throat in a gesture humans use to attract attention.

He looks up quickly, brown eyes momentarily soft with emotion. He masks it quickly with Nietzschean bravado. "Report?" he barks, rubbing the flakes of blood on his fingertips off onto his pants like so much dirt.

"I have allowed them to escape, as planned. Though, there is a slight snag."

When I paused, as I am programmed to do for optimal human interaction, he turned to glare at me. "Now," he snapped, standing quickly.

Nietzscheans have no patience for pauses. "Trance has found and disabled the transmitter."

He squeezed his eyes shut, body sagging like a deflating balloon. "We lost them?"

I cock my head. How very biologic of him to think I would fail so easily. "Of course not. The virus is leaving my systems. I have the slipfighter on long range scan. I do recommend we follow them before they enter a slip-point."

He breaks into a smile, a real shining teeth, wide-eyed smile. I hate to strip it away.

"He didn't do it."

"What are you blathering about?" The smile melts away as caution fills his dark eyes.

"Tara' Han. He never entered the co-ordinates to the Gorgonyte homeworld. We'll have to follow them and we're running out of time. In addition, the slipfighter is heading toward the Vielston Darkness. The void. No stars. No communications. No life. They may jump before they reach it. They may jump after. I have no way to predict with certainty."

"Surely they aren't insane enough to cross a navigational void to reach the homeworld?"

I shrug, purse my lips. "That's debatable."

He glares at me.

"The void is narrow. Scarcely one parsec across. But it's dangerous nonetheless."

"And we could easily lose them."

"Yes."

He sighs heavily, eyes darting around the corridor as he thinks over the possibilities. "Is there more?" he asks, and I can tell his strength will be buoyed by more good news. We can use his strength at the moment since he is the closest thing to a captain I have...until Beka recovers more.

"Beka's sight is returning. She is rapidly approaching half-functionality. She administered the antidote to Dylan, though his condition is still guarded. He hasn't shown improvement yet, but his condition has stopped deteriorating. I expect he will recover enough to--recover enough to walk around within twenty-four hours."

"And you?"

"I am now at three-quarters capacity thanks to Harper and..." Must I admit it? "The Gorgonyte."

"Good." He turns and starts to jog toward the Command Deck.

"Tyr?" I call after him. He turns, jogging backward, not slowing. "My avatar?"

"The little man will have to fix her. I have no skill with toys."

I stand there gazing down at her for a long time. My mainframe will assist Tyr. Beka will nursemaid Dylan. We will follow them through the void, if they choose that path.

I squat down beside my avatar. Her eyes are open, staring. It is a disconcerting feeling to see the image of oneself dead. My emotional capacity is extremely limited. I know my mainframe would say I am being irrationally sentimental. But I miss Rommie. She is vivid and exciting, in a way, as are biologics themselves.

Her chest cavity is torn, exploded outward as if an unbearable bubble burst from within. Laying my hand lightly on her outer shell, I perform a diagnostic. Her damage is not irrepairable.

"Leave it to Harper," I mutter in disgust. "He won't be back for a long time."

If you want something done, sometimes you just have to do it yourself. I summon a mariabot to be my hands and begin repairing myself.

A few moments later, I feel the drive kick in and we begin our pursuit.

TBC.


	42. Chapter 42

Part-42

Beka's POV

I was now on my way back to Dylan. Tyr had given me the means to make him better, for which I was grateful.

But all that other stuff he had talked about: Trance, the Gorgonytes and the Abyss. It was all rather overwhelming.

But I had to trust that things would work out all right. Well, at least, I hoped so. Hope was good. It wasn't good to give up. I hadn't given up when I was a prisoner and almost blind. I'd come close but I hadn't. And now look at me. I was free and my sight was back. So, that had worked out.

Trust. That was something to think about. I did trust Tyr. Somehow, when he was talking to me back in Medical I could just tell he was sincere. Neitzscheans didn't make a habit of wearing their hearts on their sleeves. I knew that much.

But at least, this one time, Tyr had. And that is why I knew he was sincere and I could trust him. He truly is a friend. If anything good had come out of this whole mess, finding that out was it.

If this plan of his worked… It would. It just had to.

I entered Dylan's quarters. He was still sleeping. Good. I injected him with the nanytes and waited for them to work. I hoped they would.

It seemed like a long time but in actual fact, I'm not sure how long it was before Dylan started to stir. I went over to him. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Beka?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"What happened?"

Oh, boy! How to answer that question? What to tell him? So many things had happened. Nothing was the same as it had been before I'd gone out on that mission. I had a gut feeling that even if we all survived this and Tyr's plan worked that things would be forever altered.

But I couldn't say all that to him. He was just getting over a serious illness. Not the time to dump stuff on him. Instead, I said, "You've been sick. Very, very sick. Almost dying kind of sick."

"That makes sense. I feel like death warmed over."

I had to laugh. "Well, the good news is you're looking better, so you must be on the mend. Those reprogrammed nanytes that the Gorgonyte gave to Tyr really did work."

Dylan got a horrified look on his face. "The Gorgonyte! But he's our enemy."

I sighed. The things that Tyr had said were making me rethink that. I can't say it was pleasant or that I liked it but it was true. There it was. "Not necessarily, Dylan. According to Tyr--."

"Tyr! But Tyr always has his own agenda. How can we even trust him?"

I sighed again. "Because we can. I know it. Deep down inside you know it too, I think. You're just a little off because of your recent illness. But we can trust Tyr. And things will all work out according to plan."

"Plan. What plan?"

"Tyr's plan. It's a good one and it'll work. You'll see." I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince him or myself. Maybe the both of us.


End file.
